After a dominant performance over Warrack in round two of the WFNL on Saturday, April 27, the Rats are preparing to face the Southern Mallee Thunder for the first time.
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Despite having faced a portion of its side as recently as the 2023 grand final, Ararat co-coach Tom Mills is wary of what they could produce.
"It is a bit funny. We only really know half of their team, and the other half is unknown. We have to go in a bit unsure of what we're going to get," Mills said.
"But we know they are clearly a good side, so we have to be on our game."
He believes the midfield battle could go a long way to deciding the outcome at Alexandra Oval.
"Their midfield is obviously good. So we've just got to negate there and not get overrun," Mills said.
One match-up, in particular, inside the midfield, is the contest between rucks Cody Lindsay and Thunder coach Kieran Delahunty.
Lindsay featured in last season's team of the year, whilst Delahunty is a three-time Toohey Medallist.
"It's always a good match-up, and that one is where the game starts, too. Whoever wins that battle goes a long way to their team winning," he said.
Mills will be hopeful of a similar performance to that against the Eagles.
Alan Batchelor, Xavier McLoughlan and Ryan Bates played their first seniors matches in round two.
"That was probably the most pleasing thing, which was the blokes coming in and just not looking out of place," he said.
"There was no passengers, and you'd think they had been playing all year and years before. That was really nice to see."
However, the Rats had yet another injury concern, as Sonny Kettle left the ground just before half time at Anzac Park with a shoulder injury.