Glengarry Magpies and minor premiers Heyfield Kangaroos' will square off in a mighty North Gippsland Football Netball League Grand Final clash at the Traralgon Recreation Reserve.
It has been far from smooth sailing for GLENGARRY whose challenge for the Holy Grail came to life following what can only be best described as a dismal start to the season which saw the Magpies perched at the tail end of the premiership ladder standings with a win loss ledger of one – five six rounds into the season.
Written off by many it was a sterling revival by coach Ryan Potter and his chargers, which had the doubters on notice when the side strung together six straight victories which saw them account for the highly fancied Rosedale, Woodside and ladder leaders Heyfield. By round 13 the Magpies were back in the hunt for a top five berth.
In contrast reigning premiers HEYFIELD's title defence did not start out on the front foot narrowly dropping the grand final replay however the Kangaroos hummed along in the opening half of the season before a purple patch saw them struggle to be competitive for a full four quarters.
However, the Kangaroos rallied when the wheels began to wobble and derailment of their premiership defensive appeared likely.
The Roos' now have the unenviable task of halting the Magpies if they are to claim back to back flags. Assistant coach Jesse Leeds isn't worried about his side going into the clash carrying the underdogs tag and perhaps will relish the pressure being placed on the opposition.
"It's been a challenging season it was good on Saturday to finally play a good solid four quarters of footy.
"The second half of the year we struggled to put together solid four quarter efforts, a bit like a fortnight ago against Glengarry where for three quarters of the contest our match ups were working, we were playing good footy before we lapsed, dropping our intensity and tackling.
"There is no doubt like last year that there won't be many backing us to win," said Leeds.
Leeds knows his side will need to take their game to another level if they are to claim their second title in as many years.
"Our effort on Saturday was really good, we played well in the tough conditions, and everyone did their job playing their role in a strong team effort.
"We will need that same even contribution across the park come this weekend, there will be no passengers we need to back ourselves to win the one on one and play like we did in the first half against Glengarry in the semi final.
"It was great that we won on the weekend and have this chance, however the guys didn't get too excited, we can't get too far ahead of ourselves a lot of the boys were saying don't get too happy, we made it but there is no need to be celebrating yet," said Leeds.
Renowned for thriving in big games, Leeds said that the side will have a "red hot crack" at claiming back to back titles but knows that it will be a tough, tight, physical contest against a side that will be confident of their chances.
"We can't afford to model our side around the opposition we don't want to fall into that trap, rather we will be focusing on the one of one contests and ensuring that we win those we know that we are not going to win every contest and we know that the other team will score against us but we will put faith in our players and hope that we come out on top," said Leeds.
With only five players in this year's squad yet to win a premiership, Heyfield's depth and experience has long been the envy of opposition sides.
In his second year at the helm of Glengarry, Ryan Potter has cemented the side as one of the marquee teams in the competition.
Following a solid run in the closing month of the home and away season, the Magpies deservingly claimed the prized double chance and put the opposition sides on notice with two comprehensive victories in the first two weeks of finals to advance to the ultimate round.
While Potter has been pleased with his side's efforts, the man at the helm is a realist and knows how hard it is to win the title.
"It's hard to win a grand final, you need things to go your way and we are up against tough opposition.
"Heyfield are a dangerous team their players are renown for stepping up, they finished top three and won it last year so they can't be underestimated.
"They run the ball and spread, they boast a number of players that stand up in big games (Jesse) Bedggood and (Adrian) Cox are two and then they have the little spreaders that run and carry the ball (Jack) Woodland, (Nic) Dinsdale and the Dowses (Nic and Mitch)," said Potter.
While the Magpies coach knows that there are a number of playmakers his side will need to closely guard, Potter said that his side will focus on playing their brand of footy.
"We will focus on our style of footy, it served us well last time we were three goals down and turned the game around."
Boasting an even team, Potter knows that his forward line is a strength and will be keen to have the forward six firing on all cylinders.
"Our forward line with Josh King, Mark Engley and Ross McDermott is one of our strengths along with our backline. Defensively we have matched teams throughout the year but just didn't have the ability early on in the season to kick the goals," said Potter.
While goals are required to win the contest, many of the opposition coaches know too well the damage that both midfields can inflict, with the Magpies engine room perhaps holding the edge over Heyfield.
League Team of the Year members, Potter and Lochie Little can quickly turn a game and were instrumental in the side's semi final victory against Heyfield. Likewise was Chris Panayiotou who stood tall in a dominating best on ground performance in the semi final, which saw him run amuck along the wing drilling the ball into the three prong forward structure.
But while Glengarry's engine room is impressive, they are set to met classy opposition with the trio of Sean Humphries, Josh Neille, and Adrian Cox the main instigators in Heyfield's dominance of the centre clearances throughout the final series.
Leading from the front coach Adrian Cox will no doubt draw the attention of Glengarry's taggers in an effort to halt his impact, with dual premiership players Mitch and Nic Dowse to also gain attention with their run setting up passages of play for the Kangaroos.
In a prelude to the main event minor premiers Heyfield and TTU will take centre stage in the RESERVES.
In a replay of second semi final action, the Bomber's will be keen to reverse a 50 point loss when they meet the Kangaroos for the second time in a fortnight.
Saturday's grand final berth is the Kangaroos' seventh in a nine year period; however the clubs has only won two titles since 2005. Ironically the Kangaroos defeated TTU to claim the flag in 2006.
Holding strong in the preliminary final, the Bomber's have the depth and finals experience to match it with their more fancied opponent and will be confident of claiming the title.
Churchill THIRDS coach Joey Whykes will be at the helm of the young Cougars on Saturday.
Both the Cougars and Cowwarr Saints travelled through the season rarely troubled by the opposition each week so much was the two side's dominance over the competition.
With the ledger standing at two-one in Churchill's favour, the Saints will need to raise their game to another level if they are to reverse last fortnight's 27 point loss to the Cougars and claim their first under 18 competition title.
One of only two sides to defeat the Cougars, the Saints can take some confidence into the contest and it is for this reason that it is hard to predict who will have the goods to claim the silverware.
By Lauren Carey
