The Mountain Men sensationally upset the Kees in last year’s grand final despite losing their previous three meetings by an average of about 80 points.

Now the hunter has become the hunted.

Laharum has been a class above the rest this year as its undefeated 16-0 record attests.

Kalkee has come close twice this year – losing by eight points in round one and 16 in round 10 – but has been unable to find a way to win. With Laharum refreshed after a week off and regaining Gerard Matthews, spearhead Dylan Parish and captain Sam Winfield, it will be the biggest test of the year for the Kees.

Mountain Men coach Shannon Argall was aware his side was now the team to beat but said the players did not feel the weight of any additional expectations.

“We don’t feel the weight of expectations so much, but we certainly are better for the experience we had last year,” he said.

“We set ourselves up to throw everything at it last year and hope for the best, but we’ve got a lot more experience and confidence this year that we gained from 2013.”

Argall said neither side had been at its best in their previous meetings this season.

He said his team’s defence was more than ready to handle Kalkee tall forwards Adam Carter and Liam French.

“There’s a perception we’ve got a weak backline, but I don’t think that’s correct at all,” he said.

“We’ve got a very underrated backline and we’ve conceded the fewest points of any defence this season, so they’re up for the challenge despite Kalkee having some physical forwards.”

Unheralded key defender Brett Ervin is likely to match up on one of the Kalkee talls in what could be a key battle.

However, Kalkee coach Trevor O’Brien said the match would ultimately be won and lost in the midfield.

“The way the game flows will be determined by the midfi eld and it will be a good battle to watch,” he said.

“You know you’re going to have to be at your best as a team to even get near Laharum.”

O’Brien said it was also vital his team contained Laharum’s plethora of forward options.

Parish is a big inclusion and complements the likes of Jason Przibilla, Rhys Bennett and Argall, who can all play as key forwards. Kalkee defenders Josh Beddison, Josh Mibus and Barry O’Brien stood up well at the weekend and Trevor O’Brien said they would have a big task ahead of them.

“Laharum has certainly got a lot of firepower, so stopping them from kicking a winning score is half the battle,” he said.

Argall said the versatility of Laharum’s forward line would give it the luxury of being able to rotate players until they found a match-up that suited.