Hanwood has reached the quarter-final stage of the Bill Cullinan Cup and now face another tough trip to Sydney for a chance to make the final four.
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Coach Jason Bertacco is under no disillusions about the difficulty the side face.
“It should be a tough game,” he said.
“Each stage you make it to you know the Sydney teams are going to get better.
“We are expecting a physical match.”
The physicality isn’t the only thing they are expecting. After doing research on how their opponents in Winston Hill have been travelling in the local competition.
“They have scored a lot of goals and haven’t conceded too many from what we can see,” he said.
“Based on that we are expecting their attack and defence to be pretty strong.”
So far this season they have only conceded eight goals but have got the ball into the back of the net 20 times in their nine games so far this season.
They have shown glimpses of their form in the cup as well wrapping up two convincing victories in the first couple of rounds and then made their way into the semis after a 4-2 win over St Mary’s Eaglesville 2.
The trip up to Sydney will be made all the more difficult with three of the sides more experienced players unavailable.
“At this stage, our captain Daniel Quarisa and Anthony Agresta are both out,” he said.
“Kyle Greaves is also only a 50-50 at this stage.
“It is hard at times to get everyone available for the big away trips to Sydney.”
Bertacco feels this is a great opportunity for some of the younger players to step up and take in the experience which could be crucial come the end of the season.
“It gives them a chance to play in a game that means a bit more than just a regular local game,” he said.
This is the fourth year in succession where Hanwood have made it through to the quarter-final stage and they will be looking to match last year's efforts and make it that one step further.