They came within striking distance of glory two years ago, and Clare McCrohon says the South Coast Blaze remain as hungry as ever to go one step further in 2022.
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McCrohon was captain when her under 23s side lost the NSW Premier League grand final to UTS Randwick Sparks in October 2020. Fast-forward 21 months and McCrohon is ready to guide the Blaze into their second finals campaign, which kicks off against the Stingrays on Wednesday night.
The Blaze booked their semi-finals berth after a strong regular season which saw the side top conference A, while Sutherland finished first in conference B.
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At stake on Wednesday night is a spot in this year's preliminary final, while the losing team will have to navigate a much tougher path through the finals.
"It's been a really good season for us and we feel strong and confident in what we've built. We had a really tight clash with the Stingrays in round nine, which resulted in a draw. They're a tough team and they've got strong defence, so it will be another tight game," McCrohon said.
"We have a similar group to [2020] and obviously the same coach in Regan [Tweddle]. I think the biggest thing for us is learning how to adapt to that finals atmosphere, it was a big crowd and a very loud crowd, so that can become a little overwhelming. Having now had that experience under our belt, I think we feel really confident going into finals this year.
"There's nothing that makes you more hungrier than coming second. I think we knew that we had it in us [to win], so we're absolutely going out all guns blazing this time around."
The Blaze's opens team will make a slice of history when they contest their first Premier League finals series.
Marji Parr's side missed out on finals in their inaugural campaign in 2020, while last year's season was cut short due to COVID.
South Coast, who finished conference B in third spot, will meet Central Coast in a sudden-death semi on Wednesday night.
While happy to make club history, Blaze co-captain Katelyn Anderson said her side weren't just content with reaching finals.
"We're the first opens Blaze to make it through which is something that we're really proud of, so we're trying to bottle and harness that energy to come out firing and prove something this week," Anderson said.
"I've been here from the start and it's been phenomenal. I've been lucky enough to be captain along the way, so it's a really exciting feeling to know that what we've been working on for the past three years has been building towards this moment."
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
