AFTER 161 days, 93 games and months of blood, sweat and tears, 120 minutes is all that remains to determine whether reigning premiers Kerang retain their title – or if Nyah-Nyah West United’s 23 year premiership drought is ready to burst.
With 12 consecutive wins heading into tomorrow’s clash, there’s little doubt the Blues deserve to go into the decider as clear favourites.
It’s not just Kerang’s current form that the Demons will have to master either, but an incredible grand final record that is the envy of every club in the Central Murray, with 10 premierships from 14 grand final appearances over the past 18 seasons.
It’s an astonishing record and one that will most likely never be matched, but it’s also one that won’t faze the young Demons, who have been hell bent on creating their own history this season for a club long starved of success.
Last Saturday’s 18-point victory against a determined Mallee Eagles outfit could well prove to be the turning point for the Demons according to joint coach Jason Murphy, who has watched his playing group grow into a genuine contender this season.
“Watching last Saturday’s game back just reaffirmed how far we’ve grown as a group,” Murphy told The Guardian this week.
“There were some moments in the last quarter where we probably would have fallen away in the past, but we held strong and won those big moments and ultimately the game.
“The most pleasing thing is the growth within our younger players, they’re not overawed by those big moments anymore and they’re ready to stand up again.
“We’ve levelled pretty quickly and got back to work, the playing group have had a taste of what big finals are like and Kerang is the next step.
“It’s all about us producing our best footy on Saturday and giving ourselves a chance.”
Having met just once this season, which was all the way back in round 8, both Kerang and NNW United will go into tomorrow’s decider as relative unknowns to each other, according to Blues coach Troy Coates.
“They don’t know a lot about us and we don’t know a lot about them purely because we’ve only played each other once, which would be pretty rare heading into a grand final I would have thought,” Coates said.
“Even then both teams had a few key players out, so we really can’t take much from that game.
“I think both teams play a very similar brand of footy in that we both take the game on and employ a run and carry style.
“We both have players that can break the lines, have good ball users down back and good intercept players and both sides have dangerous forwards, which should make for an exciting game.
“They (NNW United) have some really good speed, they have some good young kids like (Ethan) Curran and (Max) Thompson that will come into the equation as they can break the lines and hurt you, but (Brandyn) Grenfell is the key cog to their success.
“They also have some great ball users down back with Corey Daniels, (Joel) Walsh and (Jaydyn) Stirling, they have most areas of the ground covered and we’ll have to be mindful of them too.”
As with most games of country footy, the midfield will be a key battleground, with Kerang holding a distinct advantage with both their top end talent and depth through the middle.
Josh Nitschke, Sam Heavyside, Marty Kelly, Josh Hann, Tyson Clingan and Adam Baird will all spend time in there, with the Blues second wave equally as potent as their first.
The Demons don’t have the same level of depth at their disposal, especially with Jordan Iudica coming into the game under an injury cloud, but what they do have is speed – and plenty of it.
“I think we can get them on the outside, everyone talks about our run and carry game and it’s definitely a strength of ours,” Murphy said.
“We’re hoping that if we can even up the contest somewhat on the inside that we will be able to get some ball on the outside and the windy conditions might make things a bit scrappy, which could help get our surge footy going.
“We’re pretty confident that our run and gun style can perform on the big stage.”
Although the windy conditions may help NNW United get their running game going, it won’t help their key forwards Brandyn Grenfell, Nick O’Neill and Alex Erlandson.
Kerang on the other hand are able to spread the load across multiple forwards, with Brett Kennedy, Jarryd Pertzel, Troy Coates and Jordan McNeil giving the Blues an edge at ground level inside their forward 50 – which could well prove to be the difference in the end.
Tip – Kerang to win by nine points.
