St Mary’s coach Fabian Carelli believes his side has enjoyed a perfect preparation ahead of the Heidelberg Golf Club Division 3 Grand Final.
After an outstanding home and away season that saw them drop only one match, the Burra advanced directly through to the premiership decider by defeating Panton Hill by 23 points in the second semi two weeks ago.
Carelli feels the week off has given St Mary’s the perfect springboard into its most important game in its short history, when it takes on Panton Hill at the Whittlesea Showgrounds for the 2018 premiership.
“It’s probably been a perfect preparation for us so far,” Carelli told NFNL.org.au.
“I think we’ve trained really well and I could see that week off would definitely be an advantage for us. We were able to freshen up some sore bodies, especially as a few guys have played every game of the year.
“Plus we could put some extra training into some of the guys that have needed extra work as well.”
Following the semi final win, Carelli gathered his playing group in the centre of the Whittlesea Showgrounds before eventually heading back into the clubrooms to celebrate.
Carelli felt that it was an important moment to share with his group to reflect on what they had done and ultimately what they were close to achieving.
“I think it was more so to just embrace the moment and to enjoy the little wins that we are getting along the way,” he said.
“I always believe it’s good to stand in the middle of the ground sometimes, take a look around and just sometimes smell the grass and just enjoy the moment.
“You take a look around the ground, you take a look at the different people that support you and it gives you the best opportunity to enjoy the moment and congratulate them on their efforts.”
One of the Burra’s many strengths this season has been their defensive efforts, conceding the fewest points of any side in the competition – at a meagre 51 points per game
The backline performed brilliantly in the semi final, keeping the Redbacks to just five majors – which included only one goal to competition leading goal kicker Rhys Boyden.
Carelli believes the likely inclusion of Matthew Byron into the Panton Hill forward line this week will force his back six to again step up their game on Saturday.
“We’re always looking to get the match-ups right. I think our backline held up extensively well last time against them,” he said.
“Obviously with the addition of Byron coming in, he’s going to play a major part in the mix of their forward line structure, so it will definitely be an added thing we need to be on top of.”
St Mary’s has been the flag favourite for much of the 2018 season, however the one question mark has been the club’s previous unflattering finals record – with the Burra failing to register a finals win in four appearances prior to this year.
After getting that illustrious victory two weeks ago, the belief in what the Burra can achieve have has only been heightened.
“I think it’s a relief for everyone because there was obviously the well-known fact that St Mary’s hadn’t won a final,” he said.
“The whole club really embraced the moment we got the win. The monkey’s off the back so to speak and I told the club and the players to enjoy the moment too.
“We got together back at the club that night, got some dinner and had a few beers together just to enjoy it and celebrate that little moment and then the focus quickly moved on to the grand final and our recovery and preparation pretty much the next day.”
With a healthy squad to choose from, Carelli will have a difficult job selecting his final team for the grand final, but he is confident that the right line-up will be picked come Saturday.
“We will definitely have a look at some players, but I think the week on the track will tell,” he said.
“There were some great performances from the guys in the twos and some are really pushing for selection.
“If we feel that we need to make a change then we will make the change but otherwise if we feel that we are strong enough to hold what we have done throughout the semi final, then we’ll go unchanged.
“If there is a change to be made, I won’t be afraid to pull the trigger on it to make sure we have the best talent on the park to beat Panton Hill.”
