Diamond Creek coach Craig Hayes says his side is confident of going further than last year’s preliminary final loss ahead of the 2017 A Plus Labour Solutions Division 2 finals series.
The Creekers ended the home and away season with a 14-4 record which saw them finish second on the ladder behind their second semi final opponent North Heidelberg.
The two sides also met last weekend in the final round, where the Bulldogs were dominant in a 78-point thrashing at Coventry Oval.
It was the Bulldogs third win over Diamond Creek for the season and ensured they finished the regular season 10 points clear atop of the ladder.
But despite the heavy defeat in Round 18, Hayes believes Diamond Creek’s best is still ahead and is confident his young side can bounce back during the finals.
“Our players aren’t just taking the field, they’re taking it with belief that they’re good enough to perform against any opposition,” Hayes told NFL.org.au.
“We’ll obviously get a few players back which will be helpful no doubt, but we just expect to go out and put on similar efforts to what we did in the first two rounds.
“What Saturday did teach us is that we don’t execute well. North Heidelberg are a really good side and they’ll hurt us on the scoreboard. That’s all it is, there’s no panic stations.”
While confirming that winning the flag was the ultimate goal, it’s the continual development from the young group that gives Hayes confidence going into the finals series.
“We’ve been lucky to play North (Heidelberg) three times this year, Lower Plenty three times and Fitzroy Stars, so they’re getting good exposure to high-pressure games a lot of the time,” Hayes said.
“So we’re just looking for them to maintain the form they’ve carried through the course of the year.
“They’re certainly good enough to win every final they participate in.”
The past two seasons in Division 2 have seen the side that finished top of the table fail to be promoted into the top flight, with North Heidelberg and Lalor both beaten in the grand final after claiming the minor premiership.
Finals being a new ball game is something Hayes thinks teams should be wary of, pointing to the fact that Whittlesea won the 2015 Division 2 premiership from third position after only finished in the top-four by two points.
“It doesn’t matter how you’ve gone throughout the course of the year if you don’t execute during your finals campaign,” he said.
“That’s why you see sides go out in straight sets or come from fourth to win premierships – you just have to get it right at the right end,” Hayes explained.
“Our expectation is to do very well. We’re very capable of winning the whole thing, it’s just whether they’re able to execute on the day.”
Diamond Creek faces North Heidelberg in the second semi final this Saturday at Epping Recreation Reserve.
The winner will progress straight through to the grand final, while the loser moves into the preliminary final to play the winner of the first semi between Fitzroy Stars and Lower Plenty.
