Ag College coach Will Mitchell knows what it takes to win a Southern Inland grand final and now he’s out to thwart his former club on Saturday.
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Mitchell guided Waratahs to an undefeated premiership success in 2016 before making the switch to their Wagga rivals.
Convinced by younger brother Andy Stanham join Aggies, he’s been at the helm for the past two seasons and has the university side on the brink of their end result since 2012.
Mitchell is looking for his young side to shine on the biggest day of the year as they look to become the first team to down Waratahs this season.
“Waratahs might be one of those sides we beat one time out of 10 but this could be that one time,” Mitchell said.
“The pressure is on them to wipe the floor with us.
“They are a very good side and we aren’t taking them lightly, don’t get me wrong, but we are going in there with a nothing to lose attitude and know we will have a big crowd of support.”
Injuries have not been kind to Ag College in the lead up to the big day.
They’ve had Pat Lemmich ruled out on the grand final with an infected foot, but expect Will Whiteley (shoulder) and Jock Ward (eye) to play.
Both outside backs came off early in the preliminary final win over Leeton and Mitchell hopes the attempt to retain their back line will pay off.
“We’re just trying to keep that consistency that has been working for us,” he said.
“It will make our life a lot easier if we can keep that back line the same it has been.
“It has been working well, but that is footy and I’m sure at this time of year everyone has a few niggles and no one is 100 per cent.
“We’ve played the most footy out of any side this year and it is amazing by playing in a grand final how much adrenaline can help forget about your pain.
“Once you run out of a tunnel and they blow the whistle you don’t think about pain too much.”
Only one club, Leeton, has beaten Waratahs in the past three seasons.
In order to become the second, and claim the ultimate prize, Mitchell wants his side to rise to a new level and put in their best performance yet.
“It’s not about targetting individual players but doing what we do and doing what we have done all year,” he said. “It creates pressure against the opposition and if we can create enough pressure then it is a grand final and pressure does strange things.”
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