In a rematch of last year’s Men’s A Grade Grand Final, Alma will be looking to break their Grand Final curse when they take on St Joes at O’Neill Memorial Park this Saturday.
Last season, no one could lay a glove on St Joes as they romped to a 5-0 victory on their way to collecting the premiership without defeat throughout their entire campaign. That is consigned to history in the St Joes camp however, as Coach Pat Nash told us, “We haven’t thought about that at all, the competition is so much more hotly contested this year.”
For Alma, the 2023 playoff represents another chance to break their Grand Final hoodoo. The Mighty Goats have every trophy in their cabinet, except the A Grade premiership trophy.
“The club has never won an A Grade premiership. We have always come close, but haven’t managed to get over the line”, Alma gaffer Will Hebbard told the Truth.
The addition of a couple more experienced players to their exciting young cohort has aided the development of Alma’s young side. That, combined with some good results against St Joes this season, has given Alma a lot of confidence heading into the 2023 decider.
“The boys are more than pumped up. We have had some good results against St Joes this year”, Coach Hebbard said.
St Joes are filled with confidence too, with Coach Nash saying, “It’s an exciting weekend for the entire club featuring in all grade’s Grand Finals. It was good to get through training unscathed and start building for the weekend”.
Regular season results between the two sides in 2023 have been tight, although both coaches acknowledge Grand Finals are an entirely different prospect. Both coaches are anticipating a closely fought match, with Mr Nash saying, “It’s just about sticking to what we are good at. It has been a feature of our game all season. We look after each other out on the pitch”.
“Anything can happen on the day. It’s just who wants it more. And hopefully our boys are the ones that want it more”, Mr Hebbard added.
The Men’s A Grade premiership decider kicks off from 4pm at O’Neill Memorial Park. Grand Final day festivities begin at 10am however, so be sure to get down there early and celebrate what has been a magnificent season of local soccer.
LINEUPS
St Joes
K. McLachlan-Menz, C. Fleming, T. Kolze, M. Muscat, D. O’Mally, D. Henderson, J. Picton, E. Callegher, S. Grillet, R. Miles, J. Littlewood, L. Gepp, R. McInnes, T. McInnes, P. Nash.
Alma
R. Merton, E. Hocking, J. Hebbard, F. Gentle, C. Stenhouse, B. Stubing, S. Sweet, W. Hampton, C. Ralph, J. Anton, F. Kolinac, K. Wierzejski, Q. Parker, A. McCann, N. Jeffries.
