Now or never in Seniors and Women’s grades

There are no more second chances. The Preliminary Finals beckon which means that sudden death footy is upon us. Saturday’s winners get a chance at glory in the Grand Finals, but the losing teams can only reflect on what might have been.

With showers predicted in the lead-in and on match day, all teams will have to deal with a wet ground and slippery ball. With very little rain this season this will be a relatively foreign experience for most and could be a key to results.

The Senior grade sees long standing rivals Port Macquarie Magpies and Sawtell Toormina Saints face off against one another. The Saints have had the wood over Port in recent seasons but that trend has been bucked so far in 2019 with Port yet to taste defeat against the Saints this season.

Port went extremely close in last week’s Qualifying Semi against Coffs Breakers and will be using that near miss as extra motivation. There is a genuine belief around the club that 2019 could be their year and the closeness of the result seven days ago will only steel the resolve.

Sawtell had last week off by virtue of finishing third. By all accounts, this provided a badly needed rest for a number of players that have been operating at less than full capacity. The club’s Under 17 team won through to the Grand Final last week which means that the core of this group that also plays in Seniors will come into the Preliminary Final without having already exerted themselves on match day and this can only be another positive.

The Women’s match provides the only local derby of the day, with Coffs Harbour Breakers taking on Sawtell Toormina Saints.

The Breakers have had a remarkable form reversal from last season to go through the 2019 home and away rounds only dropping two matches. The loss in the Qualifying Semi Final was extremely disappointing for the playing group and how they respond to that disappointment will be a key factor in this match.

Sawtell go into this match on the back of a four match losing run against Breakers. The Saints have been building nicely over the last month after a tough injury run through the middle of the season. Previous head to head form is likely to mean little as the Saints haven’t played Breakers at full strength since early this year and, as reigning Premiers, the Saints have the experience of winning big matches to draw upon.

A preview of the Reserve Grade and Under 17 matches will appear online on Friday (30 August).

Preliminary Finals – Saturday 31 August

10:00am             Under 17 – Coffs Harbour Breakers v Port Macquarie Magpies

11:50am              Women’s – Coffs Harbour Breakers v Sawtell Toormina Saints

1:20pm                Reserves – Coffs Harbour Breakers v Port Macquarie Magpies

2:50pm                Seniors – Port Macquarie Magpies v Sawtell Toormina Saints