Yarrawonga and Wodonga Raiders’ senior players will be a huge factor in Sunday’s Ovens and Murray reserves grand final at Wangaratta.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Both outfits have a strong mix of youth and experience at their disposal.
Raiders welcome back Jaxon Neagle, Ben Mason and Jack Haugen for the decider, but won’t have access to Daniel Bond, Hayden Clarke, Connor Newnham, Dillon Blaszczyk and Jake Bradshaw who have overqualified.
Yarrawonga were 64-point winners in the qualifying final between the two sides and will start favourites according to Raiders’ co-coach Sam Gosbel, who has led the side to another decider with Joe Lonergan.
“Their percentage (387.89) showed they’re probably the team to beat without actually finishing on top of the ladder,” Gosbel said.
“They’re pretty well rounded all over the park, we know where they work well and even though we noticed that in the first final, we weren’t able to respond and do anything to counter it.
“I think it’s a matter of all the boys understanding what their role will be.
“If things aren’t going our way, we’ve got to make sure we’re not giving up hope and continue to plug away.”
Raiders prevailed against Yarrawonga by 20 points in last year’s grand final to claim the reserves’ premiership for the first time since 2003.
“Until last year, Joe and a number of other boys like Reece Corcoran had never made a grand final, let alone win one,” Gosbel said.
“The make-up of the side is completely different and it’s been a bit of a learning curve with a lot young blokes and new blokes.”
Yarrawonga coach Tim Seal admitted the majority of his players have had a taste of senior football this year.
The Pigeons possess the likes of former senior stars Ross Mulquiney, Marcus McMillan and Matthew Grinter, who will provide invaluable grand final experience.
Ronan Pritchard, Cam Tregenza and Matthew Dwyer are expected to return from injury, while senior regulars Matt Gorman and Brad O’Connor are also eligible.
At this stage, Jayden Gallagher is the only omission from the side that defeated Albury in the second semi-final two weeks ago.
But Seal is wary of what Raiders’ are capable of.
“I watched them on the weekend (against Albury) and their ability to hang in there against quality opposition and continue to push was impressive,” Seal said.
“They’re a completely different outfit to the one we played in the qualifying final and I’m sure they’d be wanting to turn that around.
“I didn’t think the end scoreline was a reflection of how hard the game was, I didn’t feel comfortable at all sitting in the coaches box.
“You’ve got the likes of Joe Lonergan who is a barometer and he popped up in the second quarter and willed the team to come with him.”
- Receive our daily newsletter straight to your inbox each morning from The Border Mail. Sign up here