It will be all on the line this weekend in the AFL South Coast when Figtree Kangaroos will look to take out the minor premiership when they host Northern Districts Tigers on Saturday at Figtree Oval.
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A win for the Kangaroos will mean they finish the regular season in first position, remaining undefeated, in an utterly dominant performance this season. A young-side mixed in with experienced heads has made the team unstoppable so far this campaign.
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Winning the minor premiership has been the main goal for Kangaroos coach Michael Coleman, who said the side has been building to this moment for a number of years. He said finishing second before the 2021 season was cut-short due to COVID gave the side the opportunity to evaluate where the club was at. It was at this moment that they decided the side was destined for success in 2022.
"We knew we were going to be close to those top positions this year. We wanted to improve on our impressive season last season. But the successes of this season have been building since our heartbreaking 2019 loss in the decider to the Wollongong Lions. The team felt like they deserved more. Since then, we won the competition in 2020 and looked good last season and hopefully more success is just around the corner." he said.
"We had a chat about it at the start of the season and we talked about where we want to be and I left it with them really. Coaches can only do so much, it's what the players put into it. So they've knuckled down and done the work and hopefully they get the rewards come the end of the season."
Coleman said his young side was boosted by the signing of Benjamin Bourke this season from East Coast in the Sydney competition. Bourke has scored 33 goals this year and is second in the top goalscorers list. He said Bourke had been tremendous for the side, but added the overall versatility squad is something he appreciates.
"He's been an awesome addition to our team, not just on the field but off it as well. There's a number of players that have done well this year, our captain Jacob Hennessy has done a massive job for the side for a number of years, Nicholas Hay who has scored plenty of goals for us and also Cameron Daly who can fill in at any position. We've got a lot of young guys in their mid-twenties that have played together for a long time and they're really clicking this season. We've got a really good squad all-round and we have that healthy competition for spots which makes the team better as a whole."
One team who will have a say on whether the Kangaroos will win the competition on Saturday is the Northern Districts Tigers. Facing the threat of missing finals, Tigers coach Leigh Forsyth said his side will go out on Saturday and enjoy their footy.
"We've dropped off our intensity in the last number of weeks for a few reasons. But I think our approach for this game is to have a bit of fun and take the pressure off us. We do need to beat Figtree to make the finals but the good news is our future is still in our hands. We're going to go out there and try to unsettle them, I think that has worked for us in the past. We'll have to bring a full game effort, not just for a couple of quarters. It's a small ground which I feel will work in our favour but we know just what we're up against this weekend."
In other AFLSC fixtures this weekend, Wollongong Bulldogs take on Kiama Power and Wollongong Lions will host Shellharbour City Suns.
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