There’s no two ways about it, Orange Emus skipper Matt Campbell says, his side are “100 per cent” the underdogs in this weekend’s Blowes Clothing Cup second grade grand final.
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The five-eighth has a point too.
His greens are taking on minor premiers Bathurst Bulldogs, a side that’s lost just one game all season and finished a whopping 17 points in front of second-finishers Dubbo Kangaroos.
Bulldogs’ one defeat, it didn’t come at the hands of Campbell’s greens either. The Bathurst side won all three of this year’s regular-season encounters against Emus.
”Full credit to Bulldogs, they’ve had a great year and deserved their minor premiership. We haven’t been able to beat them yet, so of course we’re the underdogs. At the end of the day though, I think that’s a tag we’ve had for a while now and we’re happy to wear it,” Campbell said.
“Bulldogs were a long way out in front of Roos and Dubbo finished [11] points in front of us too. We were fourth midway through the season, there’s probably a few people around the place surprised we’ve made it this far.”
Campbell’s not surprised though, not at all.
“The ability was always there. We struggled for consistency and continuity earlier in the season so it was a matter of the boys committing, digging deep and us finding our groove as a unit,” he said.
“We’ve done that in the back end of the season and we’ve really built towards this weekend. There’s still room for improvement, even from last weekend’s (preliminary final) win over Dubbo, we’re just trying to make sure it all comes together at the right time.”
That preliminary final win was a 22-5 victory over Roos, the greens wrestling their way to victory after falling behind inside the opening minutes.
Campbell was impressed with the character his side showed to win back momentum, then pile on 22 unanswered points as well.
It’s character they’ll need to show against the rampant Bulldogs too, he says, in their bid to win a second consecutive reserve grade title.
“We’ll need to be at our best, regardless of previous results it’s anyone’s game in a grand final. You know the old saying, funny things happen in the big dance,” Campbell said with a laugh.
“These big games often come down to the big moments, the crucial moments. The side that wins those crucial moments goes a long way to winning the game.
“So for us it’s about starting well, not taking our foot off the gas and making sure we’re on the right side of those big moments.
“I’ve got complete faith in everyone, from the engine room right through to the boys on the outside, and then our impact players on the bench too.
“If we all give 110 per cent and execute, I’m confident we can give this a real shake.”
Saturday’s mouth-watering second grade decider kicks off at 1.40pm, at Endeavour Oval.
- ORANGE EMUS: 1 Michael Graham, 2 Stuart Ferguson, 3 Steve Fergus, 4 Harry Hamilton, 5 Simon Badgery, 6 Sam Greatbatch, 7 Joel Urban, 8 Rob Thorburn, 9 AJ Sykes, 10 Matt Campbell ©, 11 Cam Rasmussen, 12 Simon Thompson, 13 Aidan Baker, 14 Scott Hubbard, 15 Graydon Staniforth
- BATHURST BULLDOGS: 1 Liam Berry ©, 2 Jock Grant, 3 Josh Carter, 4 Vince Reyland, 5 Travis Gibson, 6 Dylan Carter, 7 Haydn Christie-Johnston, 8 Adam Dwyer, 9 Kurt Weekes, 10 Scott Johnston, 11 Tyler Cook, 12 Adam Powell, 13 Dylan Sinclair, 14 Riley Hanrahan, 15 Phil Tonkin
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