IT’S not the first effort that wins footy premierships – it’s those second and third gut-runs that determine which team is cheering at full-time.
That’s the belief of Griffith Swans reserve grade coach Dave Dunbar ahead of Sunday’s Riverina League decider against Collingullie-Glenfield Park.
The Swans won through to the grand final after beating the Demons by 52 points in the major semi-final, but Dunbar is expecting a far tougher contest in the re-match.
“We know it’s going to be hard work to get the win and it’s not going to be like it was a fortnight ago,” Dunbar said.
“But there’s definitely a lot of confidence. We know we can grind teams out.
“It took us three quarters to break them last time, but we were eventually able to do it.
“But they were also missing a couple of players from that week and we know they’re going to be pretty hungry.”
But there’s also plenty of desire within the Swans camp, which has been boosted by the return of captain Dean Catanzariti from an ankle injury.
The Swans will be close to full strength for the game, but Dunbar said his players couldn’t afford to leave anything in the tank.
“If we bring a heap of tackling pressure and make sure our second and third efforts are really high, we’ll go a long way to getting the win,” Dunbar said.
“As long as everyone has a crack, there’s not much more you can do.
“If we’re down at stages, the biggest thing is to not panic. Teams are going to get a lucky bounce or are going to get on a good run at some stage.
“We’ve just got to try and control the game and play it at our pace.”
The reserve grade grand final starts at midday.
