FINLEY captain Tim Robertson believes the Cats can’t afford to be sidetracked by Rumbalara’s all-star cast heading into Saturday’s grand final at Moama.
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While Robertson said former AFL trio Damian Cupido, Nathan Lovett-Murray and Brad Dick commanded respect, the ruckman said the Cats had relied on teamwork to overcome challenges all season and weren’t about to change.
“We try to worry about ourselves,” he said.
“Rumbalara obviously has some great players, so we’ll need to do everything as a team.
“That’s what we rely on more than anything.”
It will be Rumbalara’s first grand final since joining the Murray league in 2006, while Finley lost the 2012 decider to Nathalia and bowed out in the preliminary final last year.
The Cats’ last premiership came in 1988.
Robertson hopes the experience of having been deep into September the past two years helped settle Finley’s nerves this time.
“I would like to think it would,” Robertson said.
“We have played a lot of finals over the past four years so we know what it’s like.
“We have just concentrated about keeping everything the same as usual this week.”
One of the biggest changes for Finley will be travelling 90 minutes to Moama.
After decades of grand fin-als being played at nearby Tocumwal, the switch was made after the Bloods transferred to the Picola league this season.
The Cats were no match for Rumbalara when they clashed in the second semi-final, but Damian Sexton’s line-up regained its confidence with a thumping win over Echuca United at Moama last weekend.
Michael Littlejohn, Robertson and Jess Koopman dominated that win while Ned Morrison and Tom Seccull also showed their class.
“We played a lot better,” Robertson said.
“I think we took some confidence out of it.”
Finley has a stronger family connection than most clubs in the league, with Robertson lining-up alongside his brothers Cameron and Nick in the grand final.
The Cats’ team will also feature brothers Marcus and Matt Jackson.