Hawks wary of Bulldogs’ finals bite
THE University Hawks say they’re wary of the wounded Thuringowa Bulldogs ahead of today’s AFL Townsville preliminary final at Riverway Stadium.
The Bulldogs have limped into the finals and last weekend’s semi- final defeat to reigning premiers Hermit Park was their fifth in a row, while the Hawks are riding a four- game winning streak.
University have also won their past two clashes with Thuringowa after trailing at halftime, but coach Shane Jurgens said they would need a more consistent performance with a grand final spot at stake.
“You don’t want to be doing that all the time,” Jurgens said. “They’re a very young fast side so we can’t be complacent with them.
“We’re just going to have start early and play four quarters of footy.
“They pushed the Tigers the other week for three quarters and they were probably very unlucky to just run out of legs. The boys have just got to take it in their stride and play our style of football.”
The Hawks made their first grand final in almost a decade last season only to fall to the Tigers, but Jurgens felt they had momentum of their side as they chase another shot at the premiership.
“It’s probably rare for us to have that at the end of the year,” he said.
“Last year was hard with injuries and people coming and going, so it’s refreshing to have everyone firing.
“There’s some guys that have played for 10 years and not won a grand final at the club, so it’ll be pretty fitting for them to try and progress to next week and get the opportunity to play for the flag.”
Meanwhile, Hermit Park and Thuringowa will battle it out in tonight’s women’s grand final.
The Tigers are the reigning premiers and have gone unbeaten so far this season, but the Bulldogs are determined to spring an upset after their hard- fought semi- final clash.
The men’s preliminary final will kick off at 3.15pm at Riverway Stadium, followed by the women’s grand final at 6pm.