In 2018 the Sharks advanced to the decider unbeaten and the pressure was on to make it count on the day that matters, especially after losing the grand final the year before.

But on Sunday at Equex Centre there will be less external pressure on them after having to advance to the grand final against minor premiers Hanwood the hard way.

They were forced to dig deep to hold off Henwood Park in a 1-0 preliminary final win last week, while Hanwood enjoyed the week off after outpointing Lake Albert 1-0 the week before.

"When the final whistle went (in the preliminary final) it was mainly relief we do get another crack at Hanwood," Sharks captain Ben Angel said.

"We discussed at training before the game that everyone would leave feeling pretty hollow if we didn't get another crack at them."

The fixture is fast developing into arguably the Pascoe Cup's biggest rivalry and Angel, who has won five of eight grand finals with Lake Albert, said the Sharks are determined to keep the trophy in Wagga.

"It's very fiery I think, all three games we've had there's been a fair bit of spite both ways and no one wants to take that backward step," he said.

"We've got a couple of pretty solid players going through the middle that don't mind a bit of argey bargey, and some of their players don't mind getting into it as well.

"I expect a very fiery clash, but hopefully not enough to put us off our game and we can come away with the cup."

Angel conceded some of his players could have used a rest during finals, but doesn't believe a fresher Hanwood boasts a huge advantage.

"We've got a few bodies who could do with a week off, but in finals it can be good to keep that momentum going and playing every week," he said.

"We've had the three hard games and we've only got one to go to get to the end of the journey."

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