History beckons at Ballymore this weekend as the Bull Sharks chase a hat-trick of premiership glory across three grand finals.
For the Premier Men, it’s a chance to claim the club’s first Hospital Cup as the Bull Sharks, and the first top-grade title since the Breakers in 2004. Standing in the way are Brothers – the reigning powerhouse chasing a third straight crown.
In Second Grade, the Sharks are playing for more than silverware. Ten years on from their breakthrough premiership, they’ve battled from an 0-5 start to earn a shot at another title, also against Brothers, and a fairytale finish.
Meanwhile, the Premier Women will be hunting a slice of history of their own. Already the benchmark program in Australian club rugby, they are aiming for a fourth straight premiership in their 2024 grand final match rematch with Easts.
Hospital Cup Grand Final
Premier Men
Bull Sharks v Brothers. Sunday 2.45pm at Ballymore.
The rivalry
It is a sign of respect that, because they have been so successful over the years, every team in the competition really wants to beat them. I certainly respect what Brothers have done, especially over the past couple of years. And before I came to Bond I coached at UQ and the traditional rivalry in Brisbane rugby is UQ and Brothers – we played in a lot of grand finals over the years.
The opposition
They are going for a third title in a row, they have been the benchmark team for a few years and the best team this year and we expect they will get a couple of guys back from the Reds in Dre Pakeho, Tim Ryan and potentially Josh Flook. We beat them last time we played, but they will have a better team on the park this time as will we.
The Challenge
They are fast, skilful and physical and they don’t really have any weaknesses. Wests and Easts are both more forward oriented teams whereas Brothers, I really like the way they play. They throw the ball around and they play with high skill levels, but they are also good up front and get a lot of tries out of their mauls. They are just a very smart football team, and we will have to play very well to compete.
How do you beat them
Easts and Wests didn't really challenge us in the way that Brothers will defensively. We have to defend really well to contain them and then when we have the ball we've just got to get into our stride. When we played the last time the way we scored our points weren’t trick plays. We just have to be patient with the ball and trust our system and really muscle up at the breakdown.
Shuffling the magnets
We are waiting to hear from the Wallabies if Aidan Ross is available.
If we win
It would be wonderful. But right now, I’m more focused on just trying to get a good week of training and making sure we're prepared as well as we possibly can be.
On finals
In grand finals you are always playing the best teams, so they are hard to win. That’s probably the one thing I have learned over the years is that you can’t bluff your way through them, you have to turn up and play.
The final word
We've built nicely through the year, and we have certainly built our confidence and self-belief and that's been that's been wonderful to see. We certainly give ourselves a chance, but we also respect that we're underdogs and Brothers have been really good all year and deserve to be favourites. We are going to have to be at our very best to beat them.
With Mick Heenan
Founders Cup Grand Final
Premier Women
Bull Sharks v Easts. Saturday 2.45pm at Ballymore.
The opposition
We played Easts in last year’s Grand Final and we don’t expect that much to change. They are a big team who will try to physically dominate us. They also have a couple of dangerous backs, including Piper Flynn from the Reds.
How do you beat them
Our side has changed since last year, but the approach is going to be very similar. We have to stand up to them physically, stay in the fight and keep grinding, and hopefully our fitness and speed and skill can become a factor later in the game.
The focus this week
We try to leave it to the players and let our game managers run the sessions. The coaches set up the session plans, we speak to the players about what we are hoping to achieve with the drills and how they are relevant to the game, and then we sit back and let the players drive them. We find that it helps everyone really understand why we are doing what we are doing, and how it can help us on game day. And the added bonus is our game managers really build on their capacity to lead the side on the field. So, the training is really transferring to game day in a very constructive way.
The build up
It has been lighthearted. We had fun games at training last Tuesday and a review and dinner on Thursday. This week we did a hard session on Tuesday and tonight is basically a captain’s run and then we’ll invite the families up to clubhouse for a jumper presentation.
The work to do
We have been working around what we are trying to achieve with our shapes and our game plans, focusing on areas that can get us going forward – building on the detail.
Shuffling the magnets
Unfortunately, we lose Zoe Hanna to a shoulder injury she suffered in the preliminary final. We are devastated for Zoe because she has been a central figure in everything we have achieved over the past three years. The opportunity now is for other players to step up and not just fill her position, but provide the leadership she shows every time she runs onto the field.
Jemma Bemrose will shift to replace Zoe at number 8 and Lucy Thorpe will come into the starting side.
The final word
We have been building towards this moment all year. It has been a year of change, and I think it has taken us the whole season to really lock down our game. That’s what we have to trust in. We just have to stay in the fight, grind it out and be ready to take the opportunities when they come.
With Lawrence Faifua