Heartbreak now in the past for Wattles
RUGBY LEAGUE: Nothing will be left on the line as two fierce rivals go head to head.
With a spot in next weekend’s grand final against Valleys up for grabs, Wattles and Highfields are preparing for war in their TRL Premiership preliminary final at Glenholme Park tomorrow.
Wattles stamped themselves as the competition’s premier team throughout the regular season, but after having their colours lowered by Valleys last weekend, their minor premiership run will turn into a distant memory.
“We’re confident in every game we play. Obviously it’s finals now and what we did in regular doesn’t mean anything anymore,” Wattles playercoach Travis Burns said.
“We got a little bit overawed by the occasion (last week). Some of our younger players will learn from that and be better for the run, and we’ll hope to rectify that.
“On Tuesday we trained really good, and we played really good last week but the better team won on the night.
“You have got to move on. Everyone was disappointed. We’re still just one game away from the grand final, but we have work ahead of us and are playing against one of the teams of the finals.”
Wattles have taken victory in both encounters during the season proper, including a 14point victory in the final round.
“If you look back through the season and scorelines in the two games, there wasn’t a lot in it,” he said.
“They’ve been good battles, and I don’t think either team will win by 40.
“They’re well-coached, are playing well and have good players across the paddock. It’s going to be a good game of footy between two of the better sides in the competition.”
Highfields coach Gus McKellar said game management and keeping their defence intact would be the main focus to getting over the top of their opponents.
Wattles received a major blow at the judiciary ahead of tomorrow’s encounter with Matt Duggan’s appeal to downgrade a dangerous throw denied.
He will serve a three-game suspension as a result, ruling him out for the rest of the season. WATTLES:
‘‘ YOU HAVE GOT TO MOVE ON. EVERYONE WAS DISAPPOINTED. TRAVIS BURNS
HIGHFIELDS: