Torquay braces for blitz

8.30am: 9.45am: 11am: 12.15pm: DIVISION THREE: DIVISION TWO: DIVISION ONE: PREMIER: Tigers vow they will match Ammos’ physicality

TORQUAY coach Dom Gleeson has vowed to fight fire with fire as his team prepares for a physical onslaught in today’s Bellarine Football League grand final against Geelong Amateur.

In the latest chapter of local footy’s fiercest rivalry, Gleeson admitted he was prepared for an “unsociable” Ammos outfit when the teams meet at Mortimer Oval.

And the Tigers will also bring the heat, setting the scene for an explosive opening quarter.

“There will be a number of guys who will want to go down that path, but they need to do it the right way,” Gleeson said of tackling Ammos’ expected physicality head on.

“We don’t need a recurrence of a couple of years ago and most likely we’ll bring the heat as best we can.

“We’ve got to be ready because when you watch it live or on the tapes they try and physically get into you as a side.”

In a spiteful grand final in 2015, tempers flared and brawls erupted early as Geelong Amateur made its presence felt.

Baden Dodd and Kane Smith were outed for six and five matches respectively, while Tigers Tyler Lovell and Jarrod Mather, who suffered a dislocated vocal cord in the firstquarter fracas, were also outed.

The tactic to pressure Torquay paid dividends, with Ammos running out winners by 32 points. Gleeson acknowledged his side did not cope with the extent of Geelong Amateur’s aggression two years ago.

“We knew it was coming, but the way it came, it left us a bit shocked, to be honest,” Gleeson said.

“I think that’s been spoken about enough and we’ll move on, but it’s something we’ll look at. It doesn’t have to be highlighted, it’s a traditional rivalry now and we expect a hard-fought contest.

“It’s the game style that they have played for a long time. I know they’ve changed their game style, but their grunt work has changed so much.

“They’ve always brought physicality since I’ve been in the BFL. There’s no secret that they’ve done it in the past and we’ve got to equalise it, that’s the big thing.

“They’re going for four in a row and we want that first one really bad.”

Winning the opening round by 14 points, the Tigers have battled in the next two meetings, losing Round 8 by 39 points and the second semifinal by 22 points.

Gleeson admitted his team simply needed to get the game on its terms.

“It’s just being unsociable and winning it at the stoppages,” Gleeson said.

“This game is going to be about contested footy and that’s what Ammos have prided themselves on in the past. With the weather that’s served up so far this week, I see it being a tough and hard game, so as long as we bring that pressure to the footy and play a good, contested brand it will go a long way to winning the game.”

Torquay’s BFL grand final record is a mixed one, winning seven from 15 appearances since 1971 and losing its past two grand finals to Ammos, but Gleeson believed it counted for little.

“The past is the past,” he said. “I don’t know the personnel in 2008, but I suspect it’s changed a lot since then.

“Since 2015, there’s probably only six or seven of us playing, so a lot changes in the space of a couple of years.”