THE Gunnedah Bulldogs will be out for their second AFL North West premiership in three years when they play host to the New England Nomads on Saturday.
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Having lost one game in season 2019, the Bulldogs set up the home grand final with a stirring second semi-final victory against the Inverell Saints on August 10.
The Nomads' journey to the grand final has also seen them go through Inverell, defeating the Saints in last week's preliminary final by nine points.
Saturday's clash will mark the second time in three seasons Wolseley Park will host the grand final after last hosting in 2017.
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Bulldogs captain Ben Maher said the playing group was eager to avenge last season's grand final loss to the Inverell Saints on Saturday.
"Now that we are pretty close to game day, I think all of the boys are really excited," Maher told the Namoi Valley Independent.
"To be honest, the break we earned for winning the second semi-final has been annoying, but now it's nearly over and we can't wait for the game."
Having finished in third place on the ladder, few predicted the Nomads would be playing off for a grand final.
However, Bulldogs coach Doug Meagher said he would not be taking the Nomads lightly.
"I have only coached against them once, but they are a well-drilled, well-coached and fast team," Meagher said.
"They have some star players such as Angus Quail, Clarrie Barker, Tom Hunt and Modra [David Richards].
"We will really need to be prepared to work hard and play until the final siren if we want to beat them on Saturday."
With more than 25 players eligible to play for the Bulldogs on Saturday, Meagher said "selection headaches would be inevitable".
"Having a lot of guys qualified to play for us in the grand final is a good problem to have," he said.
"It allows us to really sit down and nut out the best possible team we can to get the job done.
"Making sure so many guys would be qualified was a real focus for us throughout the season and we are reaping the rewards of that at the moment.
"The decision regarding the make-up of the final team will be made on Thursday night after training."
Maher echoed his coach's sentiments saying some players would "be stiff to miss out" on a playing spot.
"It's a good and bad problem to have because it does give us options, but there will be some guys who will be unlucky to miss out on playing," he said.
"However, it took the whole club to get us to this point and it will take the whole club to get us over the line."
Maher said the side would "not look to change too much" in preparation for Saturday's clash.
"I think we will focus on a bit of speed and look to sharpen up our skills at training," he said.
"To be honest, we all know our jobs, so it is just a matter of going out there and doing it.
"We are bloody keen and can't wait for Saturday to get here."
Wolseley Oval will play host to an action-packed day of grand final action with the under-14 clash between the Inverell Saints and Glen Innes Celts beginning from 9am.
The under-17 grand final between the Inverell Saints and Moree Suns will follow, before a 2018 women's grand final rematch between the Saints and the Tamworth Kangaroos.
The men's game begins at 2.45pm.
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
