By Lauren Henry

A desperation to win and break a 45-year senior premiership drought proved the catalyst in Nhill’s 42-point victory in Saturday’s Wimmera league grand final.

Thousands packed Horsham City Oval to watch a highly fancied Ararat, aiming for its fourth consecutive premiership, play Nhill, the team forced to make the grand final the hard way after finishing in fourth spot.

The Tigers’ rollercoaster season was no more evident than when, after a four-point win over the Rats in round 16, they suffered an unexpected loss to Warrack Eagles the following week, costing them third spot and a double chance.

It meant every final was sudden-death for the Tigers, and they earnt a grand final place with a Peter Politis goal after the siren in the preliminary final. 

But it wasn’t all good news; Nhill lost captain Lucas Dahlenburg, who broke his leg in the preliminary final, and went into their most important match of the season without a key player.

On the flipside, after finishing on top, the Rats only had to win a second semi-final to earn a spot in the grand final. 

The fresh and rested Ararat side looked impressive early on Saturday, piling on five goals to one in the first quarter, despite Nhill having more inside 50s, 15-12.

Tigers co-coach Trevor Ryan gave his side a rev-up at the quarter-time huddle, and told them not to be bullied by the Rats: “It’s a grand final – there are no second chances.”

Nhill responded in the second term – goals to Josh Ryan and Xavier Bone had them back in the game, and when Wallace Wheaton scored a goal on the run, the Tigers trailed by nine points.

The two teams traded goals before Drew Schneider kicked two majors to give Nhill a 51-47 lead at half-time.

The Tigers made use of the breeze with a seven-goal-to-two quarter, led by co-coach Jake McQueen, setting up a grand final for the ages.

The third quarter was an arm-wrestle, with the battle between two Wimmera league superstars – Ararat coach Tom Williamson and Nhill utility Frazer Driscoll – an enthralling watch.

The Tigers were able to edge out to a 71-54 lead but a Sonny Kettle long-bomb put the margin back to 11 points.

A kick on the siren from the league’s best under-21 player, Tom Wheaton, put the Tigers out to a 78-61 lead at the last change.

A frustrated Williamson told his charges at the huddle their ‘midfield was getting smashed’ and they needed to dig deep throughout the fourth quarter to get the win.

The Rats responded immediately through their captain Tom Mills, who marked and goaled early, and put the margin within reach.

But a miracle goal from Driscoll on the boundary, followed by another Tom Wheaton major gave the Tigers an 87-67 buffer.

Ararat missed some chances in front of goal, and it seemed like everything was falling the way of the Tigers.

Bone kicked a goal on the run, the ball bouncing through to give Nhill fans a moment of celebration amid  what was a tense final quarter.

But when the Rats kicked another two goals, and with the scoreline at 81-99, Tiger fans held their breath and wondered if it was the start of an Ararat comeback.

Bone snapped a goal from in close, his second for the quarter, and it was all Nhill after that – kicking the next three goals to close out a 123-81 win.

Tom Wheaton, with four goals, was awarded the AFL Victoria medal for best under-21 player of the match, while McQueen won the Binns Medal for best player.

Trevor Ryan, who joined the Tigers as co-coach last season, was glowing in his praise of McQueen.

“On Jake’s performances, he’s been fantastic right through the finals,” he said. 

“He’s done outstanding work on-field and off-field – he’s a good coach and he’s going to go a long way if he sticks at it.

“Ararat flew out of the blocks and we could have put our heads down and let them go on with it, but we found a way, and that’s due to everything Jake has put together. 

“He’s really good strategically in regards to that stuff, and the players wanted it and it came down to that word – want.”

For Ryan, the win was ‘super special’ being able to share it with his sons Josh and Lachlan, both handy recruits to the Tigers. 

“I was lucky enough to coach Lachlan in that 2022 premiership at Birchip, and that was fantastic. To be honest with you, I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to coach Josh,” he told 3WM after the match.

Josh crossed over the border from West Adelaide in the SANFL but has battled concussion issues in recent times.

“I didn’t think I’d ever even see him play again, to be honest with you,” Ryan said.

“He wanted to play some footy with Lachlan, and he’s slipped into this team really well and gave us a really good edge up forward. 

“As far as coaching the both of them, oh I loved it. I enjoyed every minute of it. I don’t know whether those guys would say the same, but I absolutely loved it. 

“It’s something special you can look back on and say ‘well, we did it together’.” 

Ryan said he was just glad to do his bit in adding to the work of McQueen and assistant coach – former Essendon footballer – David Flood, who had rebuilt a senior team good enough to compete with the best of the Wimmera league.

“There’s a lot of people who have put a lot of work into this footy club, and to come together after such a long season where you’ve had to play 11 games to get into a grand final … it wore us out and we lost some soldiers along the way, but to the group’s credit, they stood up when we needed them to stand up,” he said.

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