By Lauren Henry

It was a grand final for the ages, capped off with a thrilling, lead-changing fourth quarter to decide the 2024 Wimmera league senior premiership.

Winning back-to-back premierships, Ararat’s class and will to win shone through at Dimboola Recreation Reserve, in front of more than 4000 spectators.

After early sprinkles of rain, conditions were perfect for the senior match, as flag favourites Ararat battled Southern Mallee Thunder.

A nine-goal last quarter with several lead changes was the highlight of the match, leaving the crowd buzzing, and the red and white army in celebration mode.

Ararat co-coach and this year’s Toohey medallist Tom Williamson said he felt ‘massive relief’ as the final siren sounded with the Rats leading by nine points.

“They came and came and came – they were just relentless in that last quarter,” he said.

“Billy Lloyd kicked an unbelievable goal and then Pat Toner goes down the other end and slots it too. I don’t think anyone would have went away from the game with the spectacle that they got, and at stages throughout the day it was pretty fierce footy.

“The overall quality I thought was really good.”

Williamson said he had belief in his side to win even with the ebb and flow of the game.

He acknowledged his coaching partner Tom Mills, whom he described as keeping calm under pressure.
The pair, in their first year of coaching their hometown club, are now premiership coaches.

They were among nine players in the Ararat side who followed in the footsteps of their fathers to play for the Rats – with all 21 players listed as one-point players under AFL Victoria’s player points system.

“We’ve worked well all year – we haven’t tried to make up anything along the way, it’s just been a natural occurrence. Tom has been unbelievable and I can’t thank him enough.”

Mills thanked the club, its supporters and the wider playing group.

“Like I said to a few of our boys, that was probably the greatest game we’ll ever play in,” he said.

“To all our supporters – we heard you loud and clear and you probably got us over the line in the end.”

Williamson, who returned to Ararat after a short AFL career with Carlton, this year has won the league’s goal-kicking and best-and-fairest award and is now a premiership coach.

He kicked his side’s first goal at the 22-minute mark of the first quarter, chasing 3.3 (21) after a good start by the Thunder.

Ben Taylor kicked the opening goal of the second term when he ran into goal to score for Ararat, as the physicality of the game amped up.

Williamson began to look dangerous, kicking his second goal to even up the scoreboard.

It was a tale of two teams in the second term, as the Thunder did not capitalise on their opportunities whereas the Rats ran rampant, kicking four goals, including an impressive goal on the run by Ethan Summers to give Ararat a five-point lead.

With a two-goal margin at half-time, the flag was well and truly still up for grabs.

Ararat had a majority of the ball in the third term but couldn’t convert. 

In fact, both sides uncharacteristically missed shots on goal.
It took until the 13-minute mark of the third quarter before Southern Mallee scored a goal, bringing the margin back to four points.

The next centre bounce showed the Thunder were back in the game, quickly clearing out of the centre to give forward Brad Lowe his second goal of the match and his side a two-point lead.

The Thunder, leading in hit-outs and clearances, dominated the third quarter, but kicking 3.6 would later prove costly.

After taking a ripper one-handed mark 30 metres out from goal but missing a set shot, Zac Robbins made up for his mistake to snap a goal and extend the Thunder’s lead to nine points.

Tension was high at Dimboola, as the scoreboard read 37-47 and the wind starting to pick up – it was anyone’s guess how the last quarter would play out.

Ararat, with its big guns in the middle, was straight out of the blocks to score through Mills.

It was pressure-fuelled football in the fourth with plenty of missed shots at goals and lots of fumbles.

Southern Mallee’s Liam Nelson kicked a goal on the run to give the Thunder another 10-point buffer.

But the Rats kept coming – a Matthew Spalding goal on the run followed by a turnover in the Thunder’s forward line that gave Ararat possession and allowed them to quickly respond through Ben Taylor soon saw the lead switch.

Thunder fought hard to regain the lead – a free kick in their forward line had their fans on their feet in anticipation.

But another miss in front of goal in what was a frenetic last quarter led to Ararat transition down the ground and convert through another Spalding goal.

With the Rats up by eight points, Xavier Oakley snapped from the boundary to treat the crowd to another ripper last-quarter goal.

The margin was brought back to two points, and with Thunder coach and ruckman Kieran Delahunty given a free kick at the centre bounce, the Southern Mallee men were given another opportunity.

Onballer Billy Lloyd kicked an impressive goal from a boundary throw-in to give Thunder the lead, and after Delahunty received another free kick at the next centre bounce, the Rats and their large red-and-white supporter base were nervous.

However the Rats’ defence held strong, allowing Ararat to quickly attack and goal through vice-captain Jack Ganley.

As quick as Ganley celebrated his match-winning goal, he came from the ground with blood streaming from his forehead, only adding to the tension in the last few minutes.

Patrick Toner sealed the win with a goal from the boundary, earning the Rats a flag in a game they and many others at Dimboola Recreation Reserve will never forget.

While the class of the Rats’ top-line players shone through at times, Ararat’s lesser-light players were the difference on the day as Spalding was awarded the Binns Medal for best on ground and Henry Shea won best under-21 player.

Other Ararat players to earn their name in the best were Summers, Ben Taylor, Cody Lindsay, and Toner.
It was a heart-breaking result for the Thunder, who in their first year as a merged club battled hard all year.
Southern Mallee’s best players were Sam White, Lloyd, Oakley, Simon Clugston, Lou White and Zachary Robins.

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