Sport
28 August, 2024
Nhill break finals drought, expecting a contested clash | WFNL finals
The Tigers seniors' side last made a finals appearance in 2010.
WFNL Football
Elimination Final
Nhill is set to break a 14-year drought when it steps onto Stawell's Central Park for the WFNL elimination final against Horsham on Sunday, September 1.
The Tigers last featured in the then WFL finals in 2010.
"The coaching group sat down at the start of the year, and that was our goal to make finals," Nhill senior coach Jake McQueen said.
"It is massive for us, the club and the town. We've been backed pretty heavily the last few weeks, which is good to see."
Looking at Horsham, McQueen is expecting "another tough contested game."
"They're quite a young side, and so are we, so it will be pretty free-flowing," McQueen said.
"We're just going to have to focus on our game. I think we went away from our style and the way that we usually move the ball and play the game, but last time we played them [in round 14],"
For McQueen, that means emphasising one of his side's mantras, 'blue-collar footy'.
"Finals is a completely different game. It's all about one touch, and the pressure always goes up a notch. So it's just preparing them for that," he said.
"If we can bring the heat and that blue-collar footy, we'll go a long way, that's for sure."
For Horsham senior coach Jordyn Burke, he is focused on winning the football from the source.
"Most weeks, you go into a game of footy, and you've got to be looking at winning that midfield battle and the inside 50 count," Burke said.
"It matters, especially in a place like Stawell, where you get pretty deep entries from the middle of the oval straight away.
"When we get our inside 50s, if we're not scoring, we've got to get repeat repeat entries or repeat stoppages."
Burke also expects another disciplined display from the Tigers.
"They're a possession side, too. They're very well structurally coached, they work hard on making sure that they turn the footy over and then possess it," he said.
"If you let them have too much of the footy, you see what they do. They handle it really well, and they find ways to score."
Despite beating elimination final opponents Nhill twice during the regular season, Burke has stressed that "it counts for nothing."
Horsham claimed a 10-point win in round five before a 34-point victory in round 14.
"[We've got a] very similar makeup, both not super tall sides, but they've been getting better and better as the year goes on."
Dimboola and the Stawell Warriors will start the action at Central Park in the under-14s.
The under-17s see Nhill face Stawell before Horsham and the Warriors feature in the reserves.