Hume League grand final: Coaches Matt Sharp and Joel Mackie have their say

Osborne and Holbrook have been waiting for this day for two years.

Unquestionably the competition's standout teams since the pandemic locked down community sport, the pair have been on a seemingly inevitable collision course while the picture in neighbouring leagues has continued to change.

Osborne arrive at Walbundrie looking to defend the premiership they won there back in 2019, while the Brookers hope the steady gains they've made under coach Matt Sharp will deliver a first flag since 2004.

"I really wanted one more crack at Osborne," Sharp lamented after last year's finals were cancelled - and now his wish is granted.

"When you sign at Holbrook, you've got to buy into the community, the life members, the supporters and there's a proud history attached to it as well," Sharp said.

"2013 is a long time ago for a proud club like Holbrook and they'd like a bit more silverware.

"When I joined in 2018, there was a nice platform to launch with some good kids that had 20 games under their belt and then we had a really strong U14 and U17 program in place.

"We added some outside talent and the areas we did have covered, we've backed them in to develop into the players they are in 2022."

Sharp's opposite number, Joel Mackie, has led Osborne to 35 consecutive wins since their 2020 foray into the AFL Riverina Championship.

But since leaving the Albury Tigers to head bush, dry statistics remain all Mackie has to show for those efforts - until now.

"A lot of work's gone in," Mackie said.

"It was my dream to take the boys to a grand final and hopefully become a premiership coach out there.

"I think it's a huge achievement to be here.

"You've only got to go through the calibre of player we lost (in the summer), some big boys as well, and we didn't really recruit.

"We brought players back to the club in Rory Muggivan and Bailey McAlister and we've just gone with the youth and some kids in the twos who have been knocking down the door as well.

"It's all about opportunity and they've grabbed it.

"You can see they're hungry to play senior footy, hungry to learn and get better and that makes my job easier."

Ethan Weidemann, Michael Driscoll, Hayden Armstrong and Sam Stening were among the off-season departures to hit the Tigers, although eight of Holbrook's best 22 from last season are no longer there.

"We had a serious turnover," Sharp admitted.

"But the people we recruited definitely stick to the 'no dickhead' policy.

"We respect that everyone has a different personality, so we're not saying that if you are a dickhead, you can't come into our environment but once you're in, we expect that you buy in.

"You respect the life member, you respect the supporter and you do your canteen duty, you don't just turn up and nick off.

"I feel like we're a strong enough club now to handle anyone who might be a bit different.

"The first three or four games (this season) I coached the same way as I did in 2021 and expected everyone to buy into what we had in place.

"But there were some key members in critical spots that I had to definitely reflect and teach, and learn myself and, if anything, it made me enjoy coaching again."

Osborne have already beaten the Brookers three times this season, winning all five meetings since Mackie's arrival.

"We've got belief, we've done it before, but in a grand final it might count for nothing," Mackie admitted.

"They've been building and they've closed the gap so it's just going to come down to who's best on the day.

"There's going to be a lot of contested footy and a lot of stoppages so it's going to come down to who's willing to do that for longer.

"I look at our last two games and it wasn't real open, maybe late in both, but they've been pretty tough and I expect nothing different.

"It was a typical final against them last time around and this one's going to be bloody hard to win."

And doesn't Sharp just know it, having played in six grand finals across his career and lost them all.

"Anyone that knows me will tell you it's a boyhood dream of mine," Sharp said.

"Growing up, it was about getting a best-and-fairest or votes, you never took that into consideration.

"But now I've been playing for a fair while, it's definitely a team sport and I'd love to get a taste of it.

"There's nothing more that I want.

"I've been lucky enough to become a Dad this year and nothing will come close to that but if there's a close second, this is the last thing I need to tick off."

So what's firing Mackie, who won seven Ovens and Murray premierships with Albury, to keep striving in the same vein?

"I've always loved my footy but now it's the challenge of coaching, really wanting to get better and being able to bring a group together to achieve something," Mackie said.

"Apart from family, there's no greater feeling than when you can pull something off like that.

"If you could bottle that time straight after a grand final...

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"I've been fortunate enough to win a few and it's unbelievable."

Osborne's success is a source of envy for many but Sharp has nothing but respect.

"I think they'd do anything to win but they still maintain a really good club culture," he said.

"Sometimes, to win, you have to upset a few things to get to the destination but they seem to get it right, year after year.

"I feel like we're getting closer, on and off the field.

"We've played them three times now and the aim was to beat them three times but we haven't - so now we've just got to beat them once."

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