COACH FLAGS HOPES

BUT EAGLES IN WAY

REIGNING premier St Joseph’s has the belief it can go all the way and claim a third straight GFL flag.

But Joeys coach Paul Carson knows his team’s first obstacle is overcoming an inform Newtown & Chilwell at GMHBA Stadium today.

St Joseph’s fell agonisingly short of defeating Colac two weeks ago — a result that handed the Tigers top spot and a week off — but its dismantling of Geelong West in Round 18 provided a timely confidence boost on the eve of finals, where it takes on an Eagles team that has won its past three games.

Carson said while a victory over the Eagles in Round 12 was a positive for his players going into today’s clash, he expected both teams to look very different to how they did that day.

“You can dissect as much or as little as you like from every game you play, but we have got a real belief at the moment and the boys are quietly confident,” he said.

“We think our best is good enough if we can bring that but first and foremost, Newtown is a good team and they have finished third for a reason, and had the same amount of losses (three) as us.

“But the guys are in pretty good form and good spirits and are genuinely excited for the game. There was key personnel missing from both teams when we played in Round 12, so we will probably look a fair bit different from six or seven weeks ago, and the conditions that day weren’t that great, but the boys will be up for the challenge.”

St Joseph’s will make at least two changes from its team last week, with Lech Featherstone and Dan Capiron both set to return, while Callum Mitchell (VFL) and Dylan Pettingill (spider bite) are also chances to make their way back.

Carson said he did not expect the bigger oval or twilight match conditions to play any role in deciding the outcome of the qualifying final.

“We think we have got a really good balance with inside and outside players,” he said.

“We would like to think we can generate enough run and use the open spaces but there is no doubt it will take a little bit of adapting to. We play on a smaller ground every second week and generally in Geelong the grounds are smaller.

“But it is the same for both teams and GMHBA is a little bit longer but it is not as wide as some, so we will just take it as it comes. With the lights, no one is fazed because we train under the lights every single week so at this time of year the boys are used to it.”