Burnside coach TJ Maualaivao says his side are “confident” and “ready” to defend their Premier Grade crown come Saturday afternoon’s blockbuster at AA Bailey Reserve.
The Double Blues will tackle Old Collegians, who stunned minor premiers Brighton to punch their grand final ticket, but Maualaivao wasn’t surprised to see the Tigers fall short.
“To be honest, if you’d asked me halfway through the season or even a few weeks ago, I would’ve expected Brighton to be in the grand final,” Maualaivao said.
“But I really felt heading into our major semi final that whoever won would really need that week off and the loser would struggle.
“After Old Colls beat Barossa so convincingly, I was confident they’d get the job done against Brighton and we’re expecting them to be an improved side in the grand final.”
Burnside are 2-0 against Old Colls this season, having most recently ran out 34-0 victors in Round 8, and will look to their off-season recruits for an extra edge in the big dance.
“We’re feeling good, feeling confident. Going back-to-back has been our goal all year and something we highlighted early,” Maualaivao said.
“We’ve never done it before and we’ve put ourselves in a position to make it happen.
“There’s a couple new players who’ve helped us get here – Gus Stockley is a quality halfback with a long pass and a good kicking game, Ben Moffatt’s a big Scottish lad on the wing who can find the white line, and Hasler Monda’s been immense for us up front and with his carries.
“Old Colls struggled in their scrum last week against Brighton, so that’s something we’ll look at, but we’ve got no misconceptions about it being an easy game.
“It’s going to be a great challenge. Disappointed our women and our seconds couldn’t make it through but we’re excited to have two teams in the final and hopefully the results go our way.”
