FINALS in the North Central Football League start on Saturday following the end of the home and away season. Donald Royal Blues hope to have an impact on finals after finishing third, having been second for much of the season.
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The side will take on Birchip-Watchem Bulls in the first semi-final at Charlton.
Coach Luke Fisher said his side was excited to start playing finals football.
“We should be top two,” he said. “We know we can beat the best in the competition and it would be a shame to go straight out.
“We’ve been up and down a bit lately, so we hope we can put our best foot forward.”
We know we can beat the best in the competition and it would be a shame to go straight out.
- Luke Fisher
The results between the sides were split during the regular season with each side winning one encounter.
In round five, Donald overcame the Bulls 16.15 (111) to 4.10 (34) at George Cartwright Oval at Birchip.
“I think they were a bit undermanned the first time we played them,” Fisher said.
“They’ve improved with players coming back.”
After round five, the Bulls had one win and four losses.
The side won eight of its remaining 11 games, including a round 12 win against the Royal Blues. The game finished 15.13 (103) to 13.7 (85) in the Bulls’ favour at Donald.
Nine wins and seven losses enabled the Bulls to sneak into fourth spot and finals.
Fisher said his team was not worried by the round 12 result.
“I don’t think we’ve got any dramas with them beating us last time,” he said.
“We know we didn’t play our best footy and finals is a different game anyway.”
One of the keys to Birchip-Watchem’s improvement during the season has been Lachlan Sirett.
“He’s a big ruckman who gives them first use,” Fisher said.
“It will be a case of shutting things down and trying to match them in the midfield.
“We’re confident we can beat them in other areas of the ground.” Despite the heightened pressure in finals, Fisher said the same basic principles tended to win games of football.
“We’ll just get need to get our run and carry game right and make sure we can turn the ball over through the middle,” Fisher said.
“Then we need to take our opportunities and hit the right options going forward.”
Fisher said Donald would have the luxury of a full squad to choose from.
“We’re looking fairly healthy and we’ll be pretty close to full strength,” he said.
“Everyone will need to have a good game.”
Whether the side wins or loses it will not play the following weekend due to the league finals format.
