THE PLANS TO ERASE ‘21 HEARTACHE
FINALS heartbreak 12 months ago has spurred both Atherton and Kangaroos on to the under-18s grand final – but only one team can lift the premiership trophy on Saturday afternoon.
Kangaroos captain Joseph Pearson felt that grand final heartache last year, after his side were outplayed by a strong Edmonton Storm on the last day of their season.
That loss still stings Pearson and a number of players who were part of the squad on that day, and they will leave everything on the Barlow Park field to ensure they don’t feel it again.
“There’s a good bunch of us, we told each other at the end of the season last year that we’d come back, give it everything,” Pearson said. “The boys are a bit nervous, it feels similar to last year with the support.
“We told them how we felt last year when we went down; we talk about it, reminisce at training, and we remind each other that we’re here together.”
Kangaroos finished three points ahead of Atherton to claim the minor premiership, but it was the Roosters who triumphed in the major semi final and sealed their spot in the decider.
With an extra week to prepare, captain Aiden Carson said his side had put in the hard work to be ready, but the prospect of playing a grand final still gave him goosebumps.
“It’s nerve wracking so I try not to think about it,” Carson said.
“Not many people get to experience it. It’s surreal.”
Carson is one of several under-18s Roosters who played A-grade this year, and that experience could tip the scales in their favour come kickoff.
Learning from one of the premier halves in the A-grade competition, Jermaine Pedro, Carson has the tools to take his team to glory.
“Jermaine (Pedro) has really helped me, I’ve asked him a lot of questions and he’s helped a lot,” Car
“Stay calm and be in the moment, enjoy it. There’s little things he does in his game that I’ll take from that. For me, it’s keeping my team calm through the whole game. Just complete sets and keep things simple, don’t overthink things. That’s one thing I learned from last year.” Carson, centres Ryan Gallagher and Silver medal winner Zamien Gilbert, and forwards Matthew Serra, Kaleb Nielsen and hooker Tait Coghlan will be key for the Roosters. Kangaroos will look to the likes of Makgill Deemal-Neal, centres Marcellus Luki and Elekana Suavai and forwards Vai Nanai, Keron Thompson and Ephraim Taua to get them across the line. For Pearson, this is a chance at redemption.
“We just need to stick to our structure,” said the fullback.
“We went out there (against Atherton) but didn’t stick to our game plan. Against Ivanhoes, all week it was just game plan, stick to it and don’t fall off.
“That’s the plan this weekend.”