COOLAMON coach Matt Hard knows what it takes to win a Riverina League premiership.
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The last time he was in charge of the Hoppers, he guided the club to the 2013 flag.
He returned to the helm this year and has his work cut out as Coolamon look to embark on a premiership campaign from a fourth-place finish.
Hard believes his group is capable of going all of the way, but recognises they face an almighty challenge, faced by four weeks of sudden death football if they prove good enough.
“I think we’re up to it,” Hard said.
“It’s a bit different with the sudden death side of it, it’s been a while since we’ve been in this situation.
“We’ve brought in on ourselves though so we just can’t afford any hiccups, not that you plan on any hiccups during finals.
“It’s going to be challenging, I’m looking forward to it.”
Coolamon face reigning premiers Collingullie-Glenfield Park (CGP) in Sunday’s elimination final at Robertson Oval.
The Hoppers will train for the final time on Friday night, where Hard and his selectors will be faced by a number of tough decisions.
Bar the retired Nathan Edyvean, the unavailable Hayden Bradley and the injured Dan Ryall, Coolamon has a full list to choose from.
Hard said at the end of the day, the best 22 will be selected.
“We’ve probably got a senior squad of 27, 28 to pick from, we made a number of changes last week and the guys that came in performed admirably,” he said.
“I suppose at this time of year, you go with 22 that are in-form.
“You could go with a younger bloke, or you could go for an older bloke, but at the end of the day you pick the best 22 players that are in good form and that will help you win a final.
“I won’t take anyone in who is not 100 per cent, that’s been our philosophy all year and I’m not going to change it now.”
The Hoppers have struggled to field a consistent team all year, even making a number of changes for last week’s win over the Demons.
Hard believes the inconsistency with the Hoppers line-up could prove a hurdle.
“Let’s face it, it’s not ideal,” he said.
“I would like the side to be settled a month before finals to be able to work on things, but it’s been like it all year and it’s been out of our control with injuries and unavailabilities.
“We’ve got a lot of experienced players that know what’s required and are good leaders, along with some young kids who are chomping at the bit.”
Coolamon were 31-point winners over CGP last week and Hard is happy to have that in the bank, heading to a sudden death final eight days later.
“We’ll take a bit out of it,” he said.
“You have the dead rubber clichés but they belted us by 70 points the time before that so it’s good to know we’re going in in a better headspace than last time.
“It will be hard to repeat that game from last week but we know our best footy is good enough.”