ADAM Thomson is confident his front-running team won’t be taking any demons into the Sunraysia cricket First Division finals after a run of late-season stumbles.
Gol Gol have lost three of the past seven grand finals against Mildura Settlers, including last year when Setts’ old guard steered them to victory.
Captain-coach Thomson said there were no scars from these losses ahead of Sunday’s semi-final against fourth-placed Mildura West at Alcheringa Oval.
“I don’t think so. Obviously Setts had the wood on us over that period,” he said.
“But our side looks a bit different this season, so I don’t see any problems with what’s happened in the past.”
Thomson said his team was primed for a strong finals showing after a recent “lull” period.
“We’ve known for the past four or so rounds that we were going to be in the finals, so there was a bit of a lull for us there,” he said.
“But we didn’t bat well last game. Mark (Thomson) and Bailey (Anderson) bowled really well, too.
“Hopefully that was our off game and we bounce back strongly this weekend.
“The players are certainly excited now that the finals have arrived.”
He expects the game against West on Sunday will be a high-scoring affair.
“We’ve had a few issues with the outfield (at Alcheringa Oval) so it might be a bit drier than it usually is,” Thomson said.
Shac Thomas and Wade Hancock have led the way for Gol Gol with the bat this season, while Luke Hickey has been putting in consistently good performances with the ball.
“If we play our best cricket, hopefully we can knock off West,” Thomson said.
“It’s an interesting one. We haven’t played them yet this season due to a ‘heat out’ and a ‘washout’.
“(West star) Chris Williams is as good a batter as anyone in the comp and he can pretty much win the game himself, so he’ll be a key wicket for us.”
