A week off has Hanwood FC primed for the Griffith District Football Association reserve grade grand final on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The side moved straight through to the grand final with a 1-0 win over Griffith City in the first week of finals.
The week away from football was just what Hanwood needed, according to coach Anthony Agresta.
“I think the week off has helped us. We had a few guys with little niggly injuries and it was good to give them a bit of a rest,” Agresta said.
“We were back in training this week and they looked good, fingers crossed we can get through the week and keep training well into the grand final.”
Hanwood FC aren’t short of experience heading into the match as Agresta co-coached the first grade side to a premiership last year.
He said his desire to win was just as strong as last year.
“Obviously, in first grade there’s a lot more pressure but when you get to this end of the season, it doesn't matter what grade you're in – everyone wants to win just as badly,” Agresta said.
In the other corner, Leeton United has a large chunk of players competing in a grand final for the first time.
Leeton coach Scott Munro said the experience had produced a great vibe around the group.
“I think there's a bit of nervous excitement amongst the boys,” Munro said.
“A lot of us haven't played in a grand final for a long time and for some, it will be their first grand final, so we're all pretty keen for Sunday's game.”
Munro admitted close to a 10 out of 10 performance would be needed by his side to secure victory.
“We'll definitely have to put in our best performance of the season to beat Hanwood,” Munro said.
“They've been the best team all year and deserve to be here. They're our biggest rivals which should make for a great match.”
Above all, though, Munro said he’d make sure his side enjoyed the experience.
“The match will go by so quickly so I'll just tell them to enjoy every minute and hopefully we can celebrate a premiership after 90 minutes,” he said.