IF KALKEE is to defend the reserves premiership it won by a single point in a thrilling grand final last year, it might need to do it by a similar margin.
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The Kees face Harrow-Balmoral in Saturday's reserves grand final in a match poised to go down to the wire.
The sides met in the second semi-final two weeks ago, with Kalkee winning straight through to the grand final after a come-from-behind two-point win.
Kalkee trailed by three goals at the final change but stormed home to win a thriller against the minor premier.
Kees co-coach Lindsay Hobbs said he expected the grand final to go down to the wire again.
“We’re more than prepared for a very tight game,” he said.
“The past two big games we’ve played have been nail-biters so hopefully we can do it by a bit more this time.”
Hobbs said his fleet-footed team was better in the warmer weather against the big-bodied Roos.
He said the Kees needed to get the ball into space and move it quickly to have a chance.
Hobbs said Mark Sulic’s pace on the wing would be vital.
Harrow-Balmoral coach David McClure said his side had a chance to improve on its semi-final loss.
“We’re going into the grand final knowing it’s going to be another tough, hard contest,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of blokes out the past two times we’ve played them, but they were the better team on the day and there are no excuses.”
The minor premiers boast this year’s reserves best and fairest Edward Ferguson, while Alister Penny also finished in the top five at the vote count.
McClure said the team was hungry for a victory against the reigning premiers and had learned its lesson in the semi-final.
“We learned you can never take your foot off the pedal,” he said.
“We were up by three goals and had the momentum two weeks ago but we stopped running and we stopped going hard at the football.
“Minor premierships don’t mean anything on grand final day – you have to go out there and win it.”
