DERBY finals continue with Wangaratta Rovers and Wangaratta thirds teams to face off in Saturday’s second semi-final at Norm Minns Oval.
The two sides have been the standouts of the thirds competition this season with Rovers yet to drop a game, while the Magpies have only lost three.
A ticket to the grand final is now on the line and while Rovers will be fresh after a weekend off, the Magpies produced their best performance of the season in last weekend’s qualifying final when they smashed Lavington by 63-points.
Wangaratta Rovers coach Mick Pellegrino said his side is raring to go.
“We’ve known we would play finals for a few weeks now so I think the boys have been looking forward to this weekend for a while,” Pellegrino said.
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“Training’s been really good, the whole side continues to work hard and haven’t tapered off at all.
“With the weekend off we’ve made sure we’ve done a bit of contested work at training so we’re ready to go come Saturday.”
The Hawks won round one’s derby by nine points and backed that up with a convincing 30-point victory in round nine.
“Wangaratta were really good last weekend and they said that it was their best performance of the year so they’ve found some form at the right time,” Pellegrino said.
“They’ve got some quality players and our games against them this year have been good battles.
“We won’t be taking them lightly.”
While Rovers are yet to drop a game, Pellegrino doesn’t believe that adds any pressure to his unblemished side.
“We’re rapt with the year, you always set out to finish top three and we did that so we’ve had a fantastic year,” he said.
“As we keep saying to the boys though the season resets now and we’ve got to be ready to go again.
“I don’t think going through the season undefeated adds any pressure, a final’s a final.”
For the Magpies, coach Damien Lappin said his boys have nothing to lose.
"We've got nothing to lose, Rovers are undefeated for a reason so we've just got to turn up and see where we're at," Lappin said.
"The boys were terrific last weekend, it was a real four quarter performance built on hard work and pressure so the key will be repeating that against the best side in it.
"Every time the two clubs meet it's always a bit more than a game with the rivalry but I think with our team it wouldn't matter who we played, they're all ready to go."
The Magpies will regain star captain Hugh Canning, while Charlie Haring will also return.
"Hugh Canning will be back and Charlie Haring just needs to get through training," Lappin said.
"A couple of the junior league kids that played on permit on the weekend will go out, they have a grand final this weekend so we wish them the best.
"We thank a lot of the junior league clubs that helped us out this season as we had a heap of injuries so we really appreciate their help."
