The Bull Sharks will be looking to put the cherry on top of a near perfect season in the QFA grand final on Saturday.
Standing between Bond and their first premiership since 2019 are reigning premiers Coolangatta.
The Blues play a similar brand of footy to the Bull Sharks, are well coached and boast experienced skilful players and a large fan base who are likely to descend on Broadbeach Oval to support their team.
Bond go into the game with confidence having won all three encounters between the two sides this year, the most recent a dominant 50-point triumph on past Players Day at The Canal in the final home and away fixture of the season.
Our QAFLW reserve women will also play in a grand final on Sunday against Southport after beating Morningside in a stunning display in the preliminary final last weekend. Southport are looking to go back-to-back premiers and will pose a tough battle for our women.
Bull Sharks v Coolangatta. Saturday at 1.30pm at Broadbeach Oval
The opposition
Coolangatta have been a powerhouse over the last few seasons are the reigning premiers, so the match up is mouthwatering. Like most teams we don’t like them, and they don’t like us, so this adds to the theatre around grand final day also. In saying all of that there is a respect amongst the two teams from many battles fought over the years.
The challenge
They present a significant challenge given their talent and experience. They have had an up and down season, but seem to have peaked at the right time. The inclusion of some of their experienced prime movers has bolstered their ranks, so they will go in confident. They have a large supporter base that will be of full voice on Saturday which will give them an extra spring in their step. We will also have a large supporter base in full voice to drown out any of the southern sounds.
How to beat them
All season we have played a brand that has beaten all comers. Nothing changes on the weekend. We have great connection, talent and a hard edge that is very challenging to play against. We need to hold our nerve early and back our skill and dash to overwhelm them. It’s a grand final so we know it’s a major challenge and by no means do we go in overconfident. We respect them and back our ability.
Shuffling the magnets
Grand final week throws up selection headaches at every club, every year and at times shines the spotlight on hard luck stories. There will be a couple of those without doubt in our squad. We have had a largely settled group all season with only a few players missing large chunks of games. In the end we need to win the game and the team that coach Kain Ford picks will be the best of the available options to do just that.
Ones to watch
This week no individuals will be named because we need a total team performance. If every player plays their part, we win. This has been the group’s strength all season, everyone has contributed when it was their turn.
The focus
It’s important to enjoy the week, it’s a privilege to play in a grand final. The challenge for the players is not to play the game before Saturday, maintain the same routine that has worked all season and go in with confidence knowing you’ve done the work. All you need to do is embrace the challenge and enjoy the day.
The final word
It’s an old cliché although we have earnt the right now, we just need to get the job done against a fierce opposition. The staff and entire university are super proud of the group and what they have managed to achieve to this point. There’s one to go and we couldn’t be more ready.
With Matthew Kennedy