Both teams held on to narrow wins in their preliminary finals and now have premiership glory in their sights.

Co-coach of the Wodonga under-16s John Pengelly said keeping a strong group of players together was one of the major keys to the club’s success this season.

“We have been working towards this for the last three years,” Pengelly said.

“We have brought this group up through the under-14s and have been able to keep this group of players together which helps the club stay strong.”

Blessed with many of the competition’s young talent, including league best and fairest winner Nathan Vogel, Pengelly has focused on developing leaders as well as a successful football side.

“We have given the players a lot of responsibility,” he said.

“We encourage them all to become leaders on the field and at training, they are a strong group.

“We actually let the boys run a few training sessions themselves during the year where we (the coaches) just sat back and watched how they went about it.

“Those nights they trained the house down.”

Although hopeful of getting the right result tomorrow, Pengelly just wants his side to enjoy the experience.

“They are very excited about it,” he said.

“But we have emphasised to the boys that they just need to enjoy the day and enjoy the moment.

“If we can do that then hopefully we can reap the rewards at the end of the game.”

As is the case with any football side, volunteers have played a crucial role in getting the Bulldogs to where they are.

“They certainly have,” Pengelly said.

“We’ve got a strong committee and their support has been great.

“If you can’t get volunteers then the club falls away pretty quickly.”

Wodonga junior president Chris Jackson agrees.

“It takes a lot of hard work from the volunteers to get everything into place each week,” he said.

With the under-13s side also making the grand final against Yarrawonga, Wodonga has two of the six teams vying for premiership glory.

“It’s a very significant achievement for the club,” Jackson said.

In tomorrow’s other game, Albury Black will be hoping to take out the under-14s premiership when they meet Yarrawonga.

The Pigeons have also enjoyed a successful year, with the club’s under-13s and under-14s both making their respective grand finals.