The Ararat Rats under-17 team will be hoping to reverse their 2016 finals result against the Horsham Saints to win the Wimmera Football League premiership on Saturday.
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The Rats lost the preliminary final by two points against Horsham Saints last year and will go into the match as heavy favourites after an undefeated year.
Rats coach Matthew Summers said previous results will not count for anything ahead of the season decider.
“We have not spoken about last year, we have had a massive turnover with nine bottom agers coming in and a lot going up, so we have not talked about 2016,” he said.
“Some of their players have been playing seniors, so that will provide a lot of experience for their team and it will be something we will have to try and combat.”
The team has some finals experience with the under-agers from last year still in the squad.
Summers said he has been encouraging the team to embrace the occasion and not shy away from it.
“I have been emphasising the last couple of weeks it is not just another game, they have to embrace it is different game,” he said.
“We are playing Horsham Saints at Dimboola an hour earlier than normal, so it is different but once the ball is bounced, then it will be just another game of football.”
The undefeated Rats will have the rare honour of having a perfect season if they win the grand final on Saturday.
Summers said he thinks the team will handle the pressure well.
“I think that expectation and pressure will be there for the group,” he said.
“Whether it is internal or external I do not know but as we know grand finals are different ball game and the team will need to be ready.
“We have just been concentrating on the basics and making sure we play as a team and hopefully that happens on Saturday.”
The Rats will have a full squad to choose from, something Summers said will make selection even harder.
“We rely on all of the 22 to do their role and it is important because we have an extended list,” he said.
“At this stage there will be a few players who will not get to play.
“But we are all one unit and the blokes who miss out are just as important as the guys who are selected.
“And that will hopefully drive the guys to victory that are chosen to play.”
First bounce is at Dimboola Recreation Reserve at 10am.
