Top or topple
TORQUAY and Bell Park are familiar grand final foes. But Tigers coach Dale McDonald is adamant last season’s painful defeat will count for little when the teams clash for more silverware on Sunday. The Dragons toppled Torquay in a rain-affected twoday grand final last March, but the Tigers have bounced back to be in top spot in GCA2. The two sides will meet again tomorrow, this time in the Geelong Advertiser Twenty20 Cup division two final. “It still burns for some of the boys, but there’s been a number of changes in terms of the team,” McDonald stressed. “There’d be at least half a dozen changes,
with guys who are not in the side or not playing cricket this year.
“So I wouldn’t say the guys are using it as motivation, and given we’re doing reasonably well in the home and away (season), we’re just enjoying winning games of cricket and it’s a pretty positive feeling among the players.”
But McDonald remains wary of the star-studded Bell Park line-up.
“They’ve got three or four really good players and they’ve got some experience,” McDonald said.
“But it would be silly of us to think that we would go into the game and not focus on a few of those guys.
“If we focus too much on them, someone else will slip under the radar.”
McDonald admitted there was a “buzz” at training, with his team preparing to play at GMHBA Stadium.
“It’s going to be like carpet, for starters, and not many would’ve had an opportunity like this,” McDonald said.
“Three or four of our guys have played on some of the old VFL grounds, so they’ve had that experience, but not for a long time.
“I know that in my time in Premier cricket I missed out on playing at Kardinia Park back in the day and I’m really excited about that.
“It’s a great thing that the league have been able to get their hands on. Last year Torquay played Marshall at Marshall, and that’s a nice ground, but is there anything that’s quite like Kardinia Park?
“Our guys are super excited about it.”
The Tigers will be close to full strength, according to McDonald, while the Dragons will also have their best lineup on the park.
The match will be livestreamed on the GCA Facebook page, while the main scoreboard inside the ground will be in operation, but will not show the stream.
Fans can enter the ground via the Polly Farmer Gate on Moorabool St, with the lower level of the Reg Hickey Stand open.
The remainder of the ground will be closed off.
The boundaries will remain the same as used for the two Big Bash League matches earlier this month.