Right in the mix

He’s conspired alongside players such as Mendes brothers Nick and Dan, Jake Robinson and Riley Taylor.

From defence, red-headed line-breaker Adam Haslett is a favourite of fans who enjoy good old-fashioned players who love a one-on-one scrap.

Haslett is also adept at setting up offensive moves by breaking up opposition forays forward.

When the Rats push forward, they often direct traffic through reliable Tom Mills and have had a winner in front of the sticks in Lachie Hamilton.

One of the strengths of the Ararat group is that it has several handy players who tend to slip under the radar and can hurt opposition teams that haven’t done their homework.

A bye leading into the finals came at a perfect time for the Rats to either rest weary bodies or help players trying to recover from injuries to get right for the team’s first finals campaign in many years.

The league is now watching the Rats closely and a big question on the lips of many is whether Jack Ganley, who only played six games this season before breaking his leg, will be making a finals appearance.

Early word is that Ganley and Dan Mendes, hamstring, will be right for the first week of the finals, but Jake Williamson might now be in trouble with an injured knee.

The Ararat club declared early in the season it wanted to consolidate and build on its reputation as Ararat’s flagship sporting representative group.

It has achieved that to some degree and now has the opportunity to fly the flag even higher in the finals.

Ararat might be too lean and lame to seriously threaten the top couple of sides if they push further into the finals. But it might be a case of watch out in 2019.