HEYFIELD moved another step closer in claiming the title of premiers and champions after claiming the opening berth in the North Gippsland Football Netball League grand final last Saturday following a barnstorming seven goal victory.

The Kangaroos will eagerly watch from the sidelines to see who their opponent will be as CHURCHILL looks to rebound against SALE CITY, a side who have taken flight in past weeks and will pose one almighty challenge, the Dogs perhaps the 'Smokey' that few saw coming.

While last year's runners up Heyfield have had the tag of premiership favourites hanging over their head for the good part of the season, Churchill has been the side that has been favoured to play off for the title against the Kangaroos, however early pre-season predictions suggested Sale City would again possibly languish outside the top five. How wrong they were to be.

Starting the season strongly, the Dogs hit their straps to quickly demonstrate an impressive resurgence which saw them touted as one of the competition front runners, the side winning six of their opening seven matches dropping the points in round two to Heyfield.

It is this resurgence combined with a star trio that has Churchill coach Allan Chandler under no illusion as to the challenge which waits.

"I was obviously disappointed by the weekend's result however it probably showcases how good Heyfield are. They completely outplayed us again.

"Sale City will be a different challenge. The big challenge will be negating the influence the big three have, being Matt Lutze, Jake Schuback and Hayden Burgiel.

"They, Sale City, have been very good the last few weeks and our results this season will mean nothing with a grand final spot on the line," said Chandler.

While the result didn't go to plan for the Cougars, as they aimed to become the first side this season to topple the high flying Kangaroos, Chandler knows his side can't get caught up in the "what if" and needs to focus on the second chance against the Dogs.

The Dogs have hit their straps in past weeks and have been convincing in their two knock out final clashes over the past fortnight.

Coming into the contest on the back of a blistering seven goal victory over a highly fancied Rosedale outfit, City are up and about and are confident that they can again make their way from fourth position to book a grand final berth.

But before they can get too ahead of themselves, second placed Churchill remain in the hunt for premiership glory and will be one almighty obstacle in Sale City's way having dished the Dogs up a 89 point thumping when they last met in round 16. On that occasion the main protagonists in front of goals for Churchill were Brendan Holt, Brad Knowles and Nick Celima the trio booting 15 of the sides 20 majors.

While the points didn't go the way of the Dogs in their last meeting, they did secure one of their best wins for the season early in the piece when they made one of the toughest road trips on the fixture to seal victory against last year's Elimination finalists Churchill by 17 points.

"Having beaten a side during the home and away season helps you mentally, but it is like the old cliché finals are a different ball game," said City coach Hayden Burgiel.

Reflecting on Sunday's victory, Burgiel was complimentary on his side's composure and efforts in the cut throat final, however will be looking for continued improvement and effort from his chargers.

"We played exactly how we wanted to play, having only met them a few weeks back were we played pretty well despite not getting the points, we knew what we had to do and how we needed to play to get the win.

"The guys have been training well, to get them focused on the next game I have been putting it back onto them getting them to think about what we need to do and where we need to improve going into the next clash.

"This has seen the more quieter guys speak and step up, there isn't any more passengers guys riding on the back of the top 10 or so players, everyone has stepped up and we are addressing exactly what we need to do out on the training track," said Burgiel.

Boasting the luxury of a rotating midfield with plenty of depth, a power forward whose left foot is the most deadliest in the competition, and a fleet footed running brigade with a brave heart pulse there is plenty that Chandler and his coaching panel will need to negate if they are to halt the Dogs. And that is exactly what Burgiel will be hoping for, as he has all season the man at the helm of the Dogs has been focused on his side and what they have to do rather than being drawn into what others are doing.

"We will be worrying about ourselves, and focusing on what we need to do, we went into the match a fortnight ago with 10 to 11 guys that hadn't played senior finals footy before so to get the experience under their belt and to see the younger guys step up another level has been great," said Burgiel.

"The key is to get it all right on the day, the guys know what's at stake, this week they will need to elevate their game to another level we will need a bigger effort, this is it, there is plenty at stake.

"We have looked at who we will need to halt, we will be hoping that we can get (Matt) Lutze up from a hamstring to take on (Andrew) Brown in the ruck, we know the influence and damage that he can have on a game.

"If Brown is on song and can feed the ball straight down the throats of the likes of Travis Brighton and Chris Williams it really sets them up, if we allow them this luxury we will be behind the eight ball from the start."

Noting that preparation will be the key during the week, Burgiel has also conceded that there is likely to be some changes to this week's line-up with Brad McKay and Rowan Bell waiting in the wings.

With a minor tweak to on field personnel likely, a realist and seasoned finals specialist Burgiel knows that past results will account for little on Saturday; three teams remain in the hunt for premiership glory with Churchill just as keen to make their mark and go another round with Heyfield.

In the RESERVES Heyfield advanced to their fourth straight grand final, the reigning premiers will await the victor of this week's clash between Churchill and Cowwarr.

THIRDS minor premiers Churchill were toppled in last week's Semi final action by TTU, and will need to rebound strongly against the new kids on the block Yarram who accounted for Woodside.

With a third straight grand final appearance in four seasons beaconing Churchill will be confident that they can match it with the Demons.

By Lauren Carey