Underdog tag sits comfortably with Gray
WESTERN Suburbs skipper Ellie Gray is adamant the underdog tag sits well with her Dragons.
The young outfit faces an uphill battle in the Townsville District Rugby Union grand final as it aims to end the three-year premiership run of women’s rugby juggernaut Teachers West.
The Bulldogs have lost two games all season, one at the hands of their grand-final rivals.
But the overall record between the sides for the season stands at 6-1 to Teachers West, which included a five-point win in the major semi-final a fortnight ago.
“Teachers are the team to beat without a doubt,’’ Gray said. “They have been for years now.
“This is going into their fourth grand final. They have won for the last three years. Coming in to this, they have a lot to prove. We have a different skills set to them; if we pull that off, we are good to go.
“It is nice coming in as the underdogs. They have a lot on the line. Going for a fourth win is pretty good, but it is also pressure. We don’t have that.
“I am in it to win it as are all the girls I play with. This is finals footy, it is always a cut above. There is no question we want it, it will be great from both teams.”
While she is leading a young outfit, Gray is confident the Dragons have the right mix of speed, skill and raw power to win.
But one area where they do lack compared with their rivals is experience.
Bulldogs skipper Kristy Bolton has played in the past five TDRU women’s grand finals and at least two of her teammates have been there for the past three.
They are big-game veterans and know what it takes to go to that next level in the biggest game of the year.
“Experience plays a big part,” Bolton said. “We have three or four ladies who are more experienced, hopefully that can help us take away the win.
“Our game plan will be the same we have had all year and that is very basic.
“Each of us has a role to play, we have each other’s back and hopefully we can come away with the win.’’