Spotswood has made the WRFL grand final their own in recent years, but Altona has what it takes to knock them off on Saturday. 70575_32 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By ADEM SARICAOGLU
THE WRFL grand final we’ve all been waiting for has finally come to fruition, with proven powerhouse Spotswood set to battle up-and-coming challenger Altona at Avalon Airport Oval this Saturday.
The Woodsmen have become something of a permanent fixture in the decider, having played in the previous five grand finals for four premierships.
Woodsmen coach Chris O’Keefe, who sat out Saturday’s preliminary final win over Hoppers Crossing, told Star experience would count for something, both in Spotswood’s preparation for the game and when the ball was bounced.
“It certainly helps being able to understand the pressure of a grand final and being able to deal with that pressure on an individual and a collective basis,” O’Keefe said.
“Whether or not it’s a significant advantage, I really doubt it.
“As I’ve said before Altona have a very good team and we have a lot of respect for them.
“But they obviously have a lot to lose, being their first opportunity to win a division one grand final.”
The Vikings have never played in division one’s decider, let alone been crowned premiers.
They went back-to-back in division two before getting promoted into the first tier in 2006, but it has taken a while for them to hit their straps.
They got to the preliminary final last year but were bundled out by the Woodsmen.
However this year, led by coach Anthony Eames, the Vikings have been the team to beat.
Altona have lost just two games in their grand final run and twice beaten Spotswood, including an 11-point semi-final win earlier this month.
That victory secured Altona’s place in the grand final and gifted them a week off, but Eames says that would count for little against a Spotswood outfit that has “been there and done that” in grand finals past.
“It’s obviously something that will give Spotswood a lot of confidence, no doubt about that, but at the end of the day there’s no blueprint for winning one,” Eames said.
“I just look at last year’s finals and I think the rest probably hurt Albion going in.
“Spotswood had a really tough prelim against us and they came up last year against Albion and spanked them.
“We’re not taking anything for granted. Whether our preparation worked for us or not, I guess we’ll find out about five o’clock Saturday.”
Despite losing their past two encounters with Altona, O’Keefe remains very confident his side matches up well with the Vikings.
Led by former Collingwood player Jason Cloke, O’Keefe believes that if his high-powered forward line fires on Saturday, it could be the difference between winning and losing.
“I think that in the games we have played both teams have had control at different stages,” O’Keefe said.
“The one thing we probably took out was that we really didn’t take our chances going forward, I think we kicked a number of points and missed a lot of easy goals.
“Had we have converted those and if a couple of other little things had gone our way, the result could’ve been different.”
Aware that O’Keefe will likely return to the field on Saturday, Eames says he expects the game to be fierce.
“I think it will be similar to what was produced two weeks ago, it will be hard and tough and it will be played the way finals should be played,” Eames said.
“I reckon it’s going to be a ripping game to watch.”
