Sport
7 September, 2023
GF berth on the line
The Horsham Saints will look to advance to the Wimmera Football Netball League Grand Final when they play Ararat at Davis Park in Nhill on Sunday. The Saints have been the surprise packet of the year finishing second on the ladder with 12 wins and 4...
The Horsham Saints will look to advance to the Wimmera Football Netball League Grand Final when they play Ararat at Davis Park in Nhill on Sunday.
The Saints have been the surprise packet of the year finishing second on the ladder with 12 wins and 4 losses. In the qualifying final two weeks ago they were trampled by the Southern Mallee Giants by the tune of 72 points. Last week they bounced back against Dimboola with a dominating 40 point win.
Ararat lost their first game of the season last week against the Giants and will use that game as a learning experience and will come out firing on Sunday. They have beaten the Saints this year by 44 and 83 points, the latter only four weeks ago.
The Saints are going in with an unchanged line up and Coach Ben Knott is confident they can get the job done on Sunday if they play to their game plan and not make mistakes.
“Both games this year we were able to stay with them for a couple of quarters and then they have blown us away. They are a quality team with strength all around the park,” Knott said.
“We need to stay switched on and stay engaged and not fall into bad habits. We got a lot of footy against them last time but made mistakes. We need to make sure we do everything right and play true to our game style.”
The Saints defence was solid last week with Patrick Knott, Angus Martin, Jordan Keyte, Jackson Davidson and Jacob O’Beirne all having solid matches. The defense needs to be on point this week against Ararat’s dangerous forward line.
“Ararat have such a strong forward line in Tom Williamson, Tom Mills, Ben Taylor and Tex Korewha. If you focus on one or two then someone else bobs up,” Knott explained.
“I am happy where we are at defensively. They are in good form. We just need to sharpen elsewhere over the ground.”
It’s also a massive day for the Saints with both junior teams in the hunt. The Under 17’s face Ararat, whom they have beaten three times this year, which included a two point win two weeks ago. The Under 14’s face Stawell whom they have beaten all three times they have played this year.