Lake Albert and Hanwood's rivalry may only be in its infancy. But make no mistake, Sunday's Pascoe Cup grand final between the Wagga and Griffith foes shapes as one of the most intense yet.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sharks coach Mitch Tinnock says they'll enter the decider "battle hardened" after conceding they were fortunate to hold off Henwood Park 1-0 in Sunday's preliminary final at Junee.
After a superb cross from left back Blake Smith was finished off by James Trevaskis, who took a touch and dinked it over the Hawks' keeper in the fifth minute, the Sharks had to hold on grimly for most of the match.
The Hawks had several chances to find an equaliser but couldn't find the killer blow despite dominating the final 70 minutes of the game.
"Sometimes it's what happens in finals. When you take a lead, you mentally get in that defensive phase and that's what we did," Tinnock said.
"We made it tough for ourselves at times and were a bit lucky, but you need a bit of luck to make a grand final."
The Sharks will be sweating on the fitness of key midfielder Jamie Rankin, who succumbed to an ankle injury he's been carrying for a few weeks early in the game.
"I'm sure he'll do everything in his power to get up for the grand final and I"m pretty sure he'll be there for at least part of the game," Tinnock said.
"Even a 30 per cent fit Jamie is probably the same as most players in the competition, that's how highly we rate him.
"He's such a weapon for us and he's tough, I'm sure he'll get out on the field at some point."
It gives Lake Albert another shot at Hanwood after they went down to the competition newcomers 1-0 in last week's major semi final.
The Sharks also needed a late extra time penalty to squeeze past Henwood Park 2-1 in the first week of finals.
"We're certainly battle hardened, we've had three absolute slug fests out there," Tinnock said.
"We said as soon as the match ended we have unfinished business with them (Hanwood). That was the main motivation for today, we had to get past this for a chance at redemption against them.
"We were right in the last game against Hanwood, we're confident if we come out and play our best we can beat them."
Lake Albert and Hanwood will also do battle in the second grade decider at Equex Centre on Sunday. The Sharks will also feature in third grade, while Hanwood have qualified for the Leonard Cup women's grand final against Tolland.
"To make all three (men's finals), I can't remember the last time the clubs has done it," Tinnock said.
PRELIMINARY FINAL RESULTS
Fourth grade: Henwood Park def Lake Albert 2-0
Third grade: Young def Henwood Park 1-0
Second grade: Hanwood def Wagga United 2-0
Leonard Cup: Tolland def Junee 3-1
Second grade women: South Wagga def Wagga United 8-1
SENIOR GRAND FINAL SCHEDULE
All games at Equex Centre, Wagga
SATURDAY
3.50pm: Third grade - Young v Lake Albert.
6.10pm: Fourth grade - Henwood Park v Wagga City Wanderers
SUNDAY
9am: Women's second grade - South Wagga v Tolland
11.20am: Second grade - Lake Albert v Hanwood
1.30pm: Leonard Cup - Hanwood v Tolland
4pm: Pascoe Cup: Hanwood v Lake Albert
READ MORE