Geelong Advertiser |
DRYSDALE goalkicker Tom Mullane-Grant looms as the heartbreak story of Saturday's BFL grand final as the Hawks look set to name an unchanged team against Queenscliff.
Despite playing every match in the home-and-away season, kicking 59 goals, Mullane-Grant was dropped for the qualifying final and has since played in the reserves.
Drysdale coach John Fitzgerald said Mullane-Grant had become the "desperately unlucky" victim of the Hawks having a full playing list to choose from.
"He's in the frame, but it's going to be tough for him," Fitzgerald said.
"He didn't play the second semi or the qualifying final.
"I'd imagine if everyone's OK, which we probably won't know until (tonight), I would say we'd go in unchanged."
Mullane-Grant, who kicked a team-high four goals when the sides met in Round 15, has continued to train with the hope of a recall, but knows the odds are stacked heavily against him.
"He's desperately unlucky and it's a mixture of form, opposition, team balance, all the standard things," Fitzgerald said.
"And coming into the final, we probably had the full list available for the first time, so we've been lucky on the injury front there.
"He's accepted it, he's disappointed and wants to play, but he's accepted the rationale and you never know, anything can happen in three-four days.
They made a statement with a qualifying final win over Geelong Amateur, then caused a boilover in the second semi-final by inflicting Queenscliff's first loss of the season.
"There's no doubt (we're playing our best footy of the season)," Fitzgerald said.
"It's been a whole-year development and there's been a bit of that in terms of a new coach, the competition is new to me, and it's taken a while to get a handle on it.
"But we've all worked really hard and given ourselves the best chance in terms of preparation and how we want to play."
Queenscliff and Drysdale have shared the past four BFL premierships - the Hawks won the flag in 2009 and 2010, while the Coutas are aiming for a three-peat.
