There will be an air of nervous energy surrounding Saturday’s reserves grand final between Moyston-Willaura and SMW Rovers.
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The Pumas will compete in their first ever reserves grand final since Moyston and Willaura merged.
“Everyone is pretty excited,” Pumas coach Sam Seres said.
“The seniors have been in a couple but it is special to now also have the chance to bring home a ressies flag.”
The nerves won’t exclusively be with the Pumas on Saturday, with SMW Rovers also going in with plenty of expectation.
The Bulldogs were outplayed by the Pumas in the qualifying final two weeks ago and narrowly defeated the Magpies in last weekend’s preliminary final.
“The feeling was a lot low after the first game against Moyston but everyone is up and about now after last week’s win,” SMW Rovers coach Ben Tait said.
The Pumas won comfortably in that final, but Seres expects this weekend to be much tighter.
“We gained a lot of confidence out of it but we know we have to be at our best,” he said.
“I think our number one thing will be our attack on the ball. Our tackling pressure was fantastic last time we played them so we need to bring the same intensity.
“It is important to stop them from playing a free-flowing game.”
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Tait said he believes his side can bounce back and win the flag if they play their best.
“We have to be switched on from the start. If we can do that we feel like we have a good chance,” he said.
“We go in playing our own style of footy knowing if we can pull it off it is good enough to win the game.
The Bulldogs are likely to have an unchanged line-up, but the Pumas may bring in some players.
“We have a pretty similar team, with a possible two or three to come back. We will give them till last minute to see if they are fit,” Seres said.
The reserves grand final will begin at 11.45am at Alexandra Oval on Saturday.