IT will be familiar territory for Apollo when it meets International in the Limestone Coast Football Association grand final on Sunday.
This weekend will mark its seventh consecutive year in the big game and the side will give it’s all as it looks to finally secure the premiership title.
Apollo will come off the back of a solid season where it has proven it is more than capable of competing with its black and blue rivals and coach Derek Ferguson said he is happy with how his team has performed this year.
“We’ve had a good year,” he said.
“We only had one hiccup – that was the last game against Centrals – everything else has been pretty good.
“We’ve been pretty happy with how it’s gone this year.”
With several players stepping up to their roles this season Ferguson mentioned a few he believed to have really asserted a firm spot in the line-up.
“Lachy (Lachlan) Bytheway has had a really good year,” he said.
“It was his first year back after knee injury so he’s been really good.
“Tom Inglis at the back and Brody Heenan through the middle have also been good players for us.
“And our new recruit Erike Irakoze is a really good player – they’ve all had good years.”
Big games are expected from these players again on Sunday, while the likes of Stewart Wallace, Luke McCallum and Matthew Pohlner will also be looked to for solid performances.
“I’m expecting them to play well, they should come to the floor in a big game,” Ferguson said.
Matthew Ferguson, Bailey Kennett and Giancarlo Cooper will all play in the Western Border football grand final tomorrow and Ferguson said he is “hoping they come up okay” ready for Sunday’s game.
With past grand finals sure to be in the back of players’ minds, Ferguson said these losses should not have an effect on the side’s performance.
“They are in the past, it’s all about this year,” he said.
“You can’t go back, you can only look forward, so we are just looking forward to this year’s grand final.
“We’ll play it and play as hard as we can and see what the result is.”
Last week’s victory over Centrals will be a confidence boost for Apollo, as it battled with the wind and its opponent to secure the grand final berth.
“It was good, it was a tricky game,” Ferguson said.
“We were pleased to get through – preliminary finals are always hard games.”
With neither team holding a home-ground advantage, Sunday will determine once and for all which side deserves the bragging rights for 2017.
“We haven’t had a good record at Centrals,” Ferguson said.
“Centrals has always been a hard team for us out there.
“But it’s a grand final and both teams are on neutral ground so there’s no excuses.”
