THE BIG ONE: Crocs to return to ruthless best, says Cooper
AFL CAIRNS GRAND FINAL
PORT Douglas coach Brad Cooper believes his side ’overthought’ their semi final clash with South Cairns a fortnight ago.
The Crocs had the bye in the last home-and-away round, meaning they had two weeks to prepare for the Cutters at Cazalys Stadium in the first week of the finals.
Speaking at the AFL Cairns grand final press conference, Cooper said in hindsight the week off leading into the post-season might have upset their rhythm. He was confident his side would return to their ruthless best in the big one tomorrow after wining 16-straight matches before the Cutters hiccup.
SUPER-PREVIEW: AFL Cairns Grand Final
?
“We’re up against good opposition this week and they put you under… pressure.” Cooper said.
“Our focus will be to start well, obviously both sides will be wanting to do that. We’ll just go back to the game style that we’ve been playing most of the year.
“Watching the group train Tuesday night, they’re up and about, and I’m pretty sure we’ll give a good account of ourselves on Saturday.”
The Crocs will shoot for their second premiership in three years under Cooper after beating Cairns Saints in 2014, while the Cutters are out to break a 13-year drought. They went down to the Saints in last year’s decider by just nine-points, but coach Cameron Campbell said this year’s outfit wouldn’t carry the scars of the heartbreak into tomorrow.
“It’s not something we discuss, obviously it gets brought up in the media a fair bit about our history in grand finals,” Campbell said.
“We’re just focused on what we’re doing this year as a team. We’ve got a new captain, new players and we’re looking forward to a new and exciting challenge against Port Douglas on Saturday.
“For our footy club it’s a huge event. It’s a new year, new focus ands I guess it’s a dream at the start of the year to win the flag and we’ve put ourselves in a position to achieve that.”
Campbell also declared himself a certain starter for the decider after missing the semi final triumph with a shoulder injury.
“I’ll definitely be playing,” he said.
“The shoulder has come up nicely the last couple of weeks so I’ll definitely be putting the boots back on and not sitting on the sidelines.”
For the Crocs, midfield bull Pete Bury and Hayden Graham will return after missing the preliminary final rout through suspension. Both were named in the selected team last last, as was gun captain Kye Chapple.
Cooper remained coy on whether Chapple, who has been battling a knee injury, would face the Cutters. He said his squad had been narrowed down to 25 and regardless of the scenario there would be ‘heartbreak’ once the final 22 was finalised, likely Saturday morning. The silver lining is the Port Douglas reserves will play in a grand final tomorrow against South Cairns.
“He (Kye) had time off it (knee) last week to get treatment, to get right for hopefully this week,” Cooper said.
“It’s out of my hands a little bit, it’s with the physios and we’ll see how his knee comes up. If he’s fit he’ll play, if he’s not he won’t.
“There is going to be some heartbreak. This is probably the hardest side I’ve had to pick for a grand final, but it’s my job as coach to make those decisions.
“The guys that miss out, they can drop back and play reserves footy. It probably won’t stack up as well as if they were in the senior side but that’s footy.”
* SUPER-PREVIEW: AFL Cairns Grand Final...download Newsport to your phone for one touch access.
AFL CAIRNS - GRAND FINAL
Saturday 24 September @ 3pm
South Cairns v Port Douglas
Cazalys Stadium, Cairns
SELECTED TEAMS:
