IT is a bit of a case of deja vu for Ouyen United and Mildura A Grade, who, for the third season in a row, will battle it out in the preliminary final to secure their place in the grand final.
Demons coach Ellie Vincent said “reality is starting to sink in” for a lot of her team that this might be the last chance they have to play in a grand final together before going their separate ways next year.
“Being such a young side, a few of those girls that we were lucky enough to play with this year are going off to university next year, so I think the reality is kind of sinking in that who knows when we are going to step back on the court together,” she said.
“I’m not that old, but I’m looking at having a little break, so it would nice to finish off with a bang with the girls on the court, because going into next year, who knows where we will all be.”
Despite going down to reigning premiers Wentworth in last week’s semi-final, Vincent said it had given her team a focus as to what they wanted to take into this final, as well as next week should they win this Saturday’s match.
“Upon reflection having a look at the replay of that game, in the first half it was really goal for goal there, there wasn’t much in it,” she said.
“Towards the end of the game, there are some things we can work on.
“Especially as they film the finals, it’s nice to watch it and actually see and reflect on everything, really nail down on those aspects that we fall down with on the court.”
The Kangas also are feeling confident heading into game against Mildura after a solid win over Irymple in last weekend’s semi-final.
“We were surprised at the result actually from last week,” Kangas coach Kyra Nathan said.
“We were really pleased with the way we played, and I feel like we’re getting better each week that we get on the court, especially in the combinations that we’ve got.”
With two vastly different game styles, Nathan believes her team will have to be careful not to get wrapped up in the Demons’ fast play while hitting the court running.
“We play quite a different game to them, so I think we just need to try and just stop them from being so fast, and play our game and not get caught up in that speed because that it not the way that we like to play,” she said.
“We like to be quite steady and controlled and composed.
“We haven’t had great starts, so that is something that we are going to focus on this week is making sure that we do have a good start.
“We tend to kick into gear in the second quarter – I don’t think Mildura will allow us to get away with that if we do that again.”
The winner of this Saturday’s match will go up against Wentworth in the premiership game next weekend.
