Rockville holds no fears for Hawks
AUSSIE RULES: The Goondiwindi Hawks have consistently been one of the top performing sides on the Downs.
They’ve finished runners up in three of the past four deciders, and today they are hoping their stellar season can have a fitting conclusion.
The Hawks will match-up with Coolaroo for the right to lift the Tom Wills Trophy, and despite claims they are hometrack bullies, coach Scott Grigg believes they will handle the adjustment to the bigger Rockville Oval.
“I don’t think ground sizes impact the result of games,” Grigg said.
“It proves no barrier to us whatsoever. It’s about being physically and mentally strong.
“Our motto this year has been to repeat what we have been doing. We’ve only lost two games this year, and our mindset won’t change.
“We want to repeat our physical efforts to reach what we want to achieve.”
Grigg said past results in grand finals didn’t haunt the club, and he is backing his minor premiership-winning side to be at their best.
“I think every year is a very different year,” he said.
“Every club wants to win the last game of the season in any competition, and it would mean a lot for our players, community, supporters and sponsors.
“Coolaroo plays a tough brand of footy. From the first time we played them, they have always been strong defensively, and we will be looking to implement some of our tactics to make sure we can break them down.”
Currently Goondiwindi has a slight edge over Coolaroo in 2019, with the Hawks holding a slender 2-1 record throughout the year.
They first met in round four at Riddles Oval, where despite having less scoring shots, Goondiwindi was able to come away with a 16-point victory.
Coolaroo extracted revenge in round 13, with three goals to Adam Green helping them to a 10.5 (65) to 7.5 (47) win.
A fortnight ago, the Hawks were able to once again get the better of the Roos in Goondiwindi, with a 19-point win giving them a direct path into the grand final.
Despite the slight disadvantage and the confidence of Goondiwindi, Coolaroo coach Darren Copland said he hoped the bigger ground of Rockville Oval played into their hands.
The Hawks haven’t managed to beat the Roos at the ground since 2017, when eliminating them in the preliminary final.
“Goondiwindi are very good, and they are exceptionally good on their home ground,” Copland said.
“They’re good on big grounds, but hopefully they will get stretched.
“We’re hoping that our fitness will help us, but we know they are going to come out really hard. They have the joint Holman Medal winner in Charles Youngman with our captain Michael (Langton), which will be a head-to-head battle on its own.
“We trained on Monday and Wednesday. We took it nice and easy on Monday, and then short and sharp on Wednesday. You’re not going to get the players any fitter.”