IT'S Football Wagga's new rivalry highlighted by last year's epic Pascoe Cup decider, but it will be Hanwood and Lake Albert's lower grades who battle for more trophies on the weekend.
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In Sunday's Gardiner Shield reserve decider Hanwood will look to turn the tables on Lake Albert after the Sharks prevailed 2-0 in last year's grand final, while the two clubs will also vie for the Blake Trophy third grade title on Saturday night.
Two superb goals from Joey Schirripa were enough for Hanwood to prevail 2-1 in last year's Pascoe Cup grand final in the Griffith club's return to the Wagga competition.
It has forged the foundation for a healthy rivalry between the two clubs.
"There is a good rivalry between Hanwood and us, but it's definitely a positive rivalry," Lake Albert reserve grade coach Chris Ayton said.
"There's no bitterness or anything in the games, we play it fairly hard and after the game, all of those guys are guys you can have a beer with."
With wet conditions expected Ayton said scoring first will be massive to put pressure on Hanwood, who will also feature in Sunday's men's and women's first grade grand finals at Equex Centre.
"They're a tough team, a tough club to beat. They play a good style of footy and have a good mix of young and old," Ayton said.
"You're not going to get through the game with a lot of opportunities, you might get two or three chances and you have to sink a couple.
"Once you go fall behind against Hanwood they're a very hard side to claw it back from. The key is to score first and get the pressure going the other way."
Ayton said Kyle Harrison and Kane Baumer will be key for them up front, as well as 16-year-old midfielder Shaun Bryder.
Meanwhile, the Sharks third graders are looking to bury the demons of losing last year's grand final to Young after going through the rest of the campaign unbeaten.
"Last year's a bit of a sore point. Young blew us away in the grand final and we're wary of that this year," coach Kristian Bonetti said.
"Hanwood is similar (to Young) in terms of they're a young team and they're quicker than us, we'll have to be on our game to match them.
"A lot of our guys are 16 or 17 year olds. I'm 38 and from Griffith originally and remember playing sport with half their parents.
"We have to hit them on the counter with our pace up front."
Reserve grade is scheduled for 11.15am on Sunday, while third grade is on Saturday night from 7.45pm.
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