GSFL OPINION: Footy fans spoilt for choice with four evenly matched teams contesting week one of the finals

Although it is disappointing that we are not able to watch both finals in the Great Southern Football League competition this Saturday, both the qualifying and elimination finals promise to be high quality affairs. Through circumstance the GSFL was forced to move the elimination final forward one day to accommodate students going to Perth for school country week. So we are left with two league finals at the same time and separated by only Lockyer Avenue and slightly different outcomes. At Tigerland we will have the two best sides this season so far in Railways and Mt Barker doing battle for a grand final spot while at Retravision Stadium it will be season on the line for both Royals and Albany. The avid local footy fan is spoilt for choice because whatever venue they decide to pay their entry fee to, it will no doubt be a cracking contest. The Tigers enter the finals series as the top seed and for a couple of reasons. They are the defending premiers and have put together another impressive regular season. They have a win loss record of 13-2 and have won their past eight games in a strong build-up to the serious stuff. However those two losses have come at the hands of their qualifying final opponent in the Bulls. The Tigers boast plenty of match winners and the return of Beau Ewen and Xavier Brenton-Reed midway through the season has only enhanced their prospects of back-to-back flags. A forward line containing the triple threat of Matt Palfrey, Zak Hortin and Clay Michael is difficult to contain and expect them to make as many as six changes from last week including the return of star trio Logan Stubber, Kane Shephard and Jayden Scott. The Bulls are the real danger and many had them the team to beat halfway through the home-and-away season. Having not featured in a league grand final since 2016 and a flag drought that stretches back to 1996, there is plenty to play for in the next three weeks for the Bulls. Zach Jackson, the competition’s leading goal kicker and Kleemann Medal fancy, headlines a disciplined and structured Bulls outfit that will back themselves in to get the job done and progress straight into the decider. Sam Lehmann and Darcy Wallinger were under injury clouds coming into the first week of the finals and they will be heavily reliant on them both getting up as coach David Johnson has openly conceded the club lacks depth. The elimination final between the co-tenants should be just as tasty, now there is a growing rivalry between the pair. The Lions will be buoyed by their two victories over the Sharks this season, including an 86-point demolition in their most recent round 12 encounter. However the Sharks will take heart from their historic 43-point win in round seven which was the first time they had ever beaten the Lions in a league match. The Lions are in rare territory, playing off in an elimination final rather than having a finals double chance which they have become so accustomed to in the last decade. Don’t expect Jayson Ford to be back from a broken jaw this week but Kleemann medallist Cameron Allison will return and the Lions head into the finals in good form having won five of their past six games. They will encounter a Sharks side that will be eager to rediscover their best form and reach consecutive preliminary finals. The Sharks’ maiden finals appearance last year led to their best players standing tall in an elimination final, including Brett Peake. Peake along with the likes of Fraser Eaton, Isaac Baum and Kane Pinney will need to lift again if they are to knock off the Lions. The Sharks have been less than convincing with their form this season but there is no doubting the top end talent their side contains. The two finals have great appeal and I’m predicting both to go to the wire. Regardless of the outcome we will have one deserving team in a grand final with a ripping preliminary to come.