AFTER going through the regular season undefeated Wickliffe-Lake Bolac will be looking to book a place in its third consecutive grand final in Saturday’s qualifying final.
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The Magpies will come up against a Penshurst side they comfortably accounted for by 92 points the only time the two sides faced off this season.
Coach Nigel Otto said the round seven result was a distant memory.
“Finals is definitely a different game with heaps more pressure,” he said. “We rate Penshurst really highly, they are obviously a really good side.
“They are a nice young side with plenty of young talent so it should be a really good game I would imagine.”
The Magpies enjoyed a break in the first week of finals courtesy of winning the minor premiership while the Bombers knocked off Glenthompson-Dunkeld by 69 points.
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Otto said the week off had been good for his side.
“It is always nice to have a spell and freshen up a bit,” he said.
“We had a light training session on the weekend. There might be a couple of changes from the last home and away game with a still a few out with injury”
He said the pain of losing two straight grand final had stuck with his side during the season.
“All year it ticks away in the back of your mind but our sole focus this weekend is on Penshurst,” he said.
“We won’t get too far ahead of ourselves. The message will be pretty similar to what it has been all year – we just need to work hard when we have the ball and just as hard when we don’t.”