Sport
20 August, 2024
Demons ready for fierce fight with Tigers at full strength | HDFNL finals
Pimpinio takes on Laharum at the Pimpinio Sporting Complex.
The Pimpinio Tigers finished fifth in the HDFNL's regular season, earning the side an elimination final showdown on the club's own home track.
On Sunday, August 25, Pimpinio plays the Laharum Demons at the Pimpinio Sporting Complex with a semi final spot on the line.
HDFNL
Elimination Finals
But, after a run of rough results, Tigers coach Guy smith said his side has got to get better.
"We can't go into games with the mindset that we've got at the minute, we've got to go to a whole new level now," he said.
The Tigers are only two weeks removed from a shock loss to Taylors Lake, and are coming off the back of a 69-point loss to Noradjuha Quantong.
Laharum and Pimpinio last played in round 13 where the Demons held onto a narrow lead to win the game by one goal.
"Last time we played them, we had three key personnel out of that side, one of our best defenders and one of our best midfielders [were out], which made a huge difference to our plan and our structure," Smith said.
"We're going into this week's finals game with a full side, we can't get any stronger.
"We've just got to hit them with everything we've got."
The Laharum Demons also find themselves with a fresh and strong squad said senior coach Shannon Argall.
"We've been playing really good football over the last couple of weeks," he said.
"[With] our player management, injury concerns and things like that is minimal, so we're really excited and ready to play finals."
While the Demons had the measure of the Pimpinio in the clubs' most recent meeting, Argall hasn't forgotten the Tigers got the better of his side in round one.
"It's going to be a really tough challenge," Argall said.
"[We have] both got really good midfields that match up, and I expect it to be a pretty physical contest."
Sunday, August 25 will be a busy day for Laharum's footballers as both of the club's junior side will play elimination finals.
The club's reserves side also plays in this weekend's elimination finals, taking on Rupanyup on Saturday, August 24.
Argall noted that it has been a remarkable turnaround for the club that saw none of its football teams feature in the league's 2023 finals fixtures.
The Demons will take on Taylors Lake's only finals-bound football side in the under 14s fixture.
Meanwhile, Laharum's under 17s, which was bolstered by a contingent of Harrow Balmoral juniors when the Southern Roo's team had to forfeit its season, takes on Noradjuha Quantong.
Harrow Balmoral will also be on the track in its blue and white, taking on Kalkee in the reserves.