Teams eye big nailbiter
THEY’VE only lost one game between them all season but the Commercials men’s and women’s teams know that nothing will come easy on Townsville Hockey’s grand final day.
Commercials will take on Wests in both division one grand finals tonight.
Wests have had a six-year stranglehold on the men’s trophy and Commercials captain Grant Dilger said his side was fired up to celebrate a grand final victory against their long-time rivals.
Commercials took out the minor premiership this season with just the one loss but that defeat was against Wests, and there has been nothing between them after a 3-3 draw in the semi-finals.
Dilger said Commercials were also driven by the heartbreak of last year’s 6-4 grand final loss to Wests but he said the Roos had much more confidence in their ability this season.
“It’s a good group this year and last year really hurt. We really thought we were the better team last year and to lose really pained,” he said.
“We’ve been kind of rebuilding the last three years and those boys that have come in have clicked on our ‘Roo hockey’ style we play.
“We’re all gelling on the field so I think that’s going to get us over the line. We only went down to (Wests) once and it was right on full-time, just a little defensive lapse.
“Other than that we’ve really gone to the last whistle, so that’s probably been the biggest improvement.”
Meanwhile, the Commercials women were runaway minor premiers as they went unbeaten through the regular season, but Wests have been their fiercest rivals with two draws.
Commercials captain Rebecca Church said they would take plenty of confidence from their unblemished record but she stressed that the grand final was a “whole different ball game”.
“Finals is such a different game so we basically forget about the season and go from the grand final,” she said.
“I think our attack has definitely improved from the previous years.
“If we get into the 25 it’s a likely chance we’re going to get a goal, which is really good for our strikers and helps through the field.
“Wests are definitely strong through the midfield and just have a solid backline, so getting out and around behind them and using our speed, which our young players have, is our advantage.”
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