Mt Barker coach David Johnson relishing the chance to play reigning premiers Railways in qualifying final

Mt Barker coach David Johnson says his side need to stick to their guns and trust the process to secure their third win of the season over reigning premiers Railways in the Great Southern Football League qualifying final at Tigerland on Saturday. The Tigers have dropped points in only two games this season, with both losses coming against the Bulls in round three and seven, but they finished 24-point winners in their most recent head-to-head encounter. “We think our process works pretty well against them, they’re an awesome side and they’re in great form so they are the side to beat,” Johnson said. “We’ve just got to come prepared to play and we’ve sort of got to match them around the stoppages and try to spread really hard. We have pretty good leg speed so we’ll have to try and get our game going and get it going pretty early.” Johnson said his side would not put unnecessary energy into focusing on any particular player from a stacked Tigers line-up. “We don’t pay too much attention to that, we’ll have the odd run-with and try to find a good match-up for someone like Matt (Palfrey),” he said. “But across the ground, we have just got to make sure everyone is accountable. “Our style of play isn’t about taking one bloke — it’s about making sure that the team defensive aspect is covered so if we do that we’ll be all right.” The Bulls are set to be boosted by the return of crafty forward Keegan Berry along with Josh Davenport. But Johnson is still sweating on the fitness of young defender Darcy Wallinger and veteran forward Sam Lehmann. Wallinger injured his calf in the first half of the Bulls’ clash with North Albany at the weekend and Lehmann did not play after half-time with a back injury. “It’s a bit early in the week to make the call, they’ve both got physio appointments so we’ll just map the program out between now and Friday and make that call,” Johnson said. “Obviously both of them sustained injuries. We’re hoping they’ll both be available but until our physio has seen them both, we won’t know the outcome.” Tigers coach Mark Bayliss says star midfielder Logan Stubber will not feature in the highly anticipated clash but a host of other players are in contention to make their return to the line-up. The 2019 Kleemann medal winner sustained a broken finger that required surgery after the Tigers’ round 10 match with Albany. Bayliss said his star midfielder was roughly a week away from a return to the squad and should be ready to feature in a preliminary final or grand final, depending on the outcome of this weekend’s first qualifying final. The Tigers will look to welcome back hard-nosed midfielder Jayden Scott along with dynamic forward-midfielder Kane Shephard for the qualifying final showdown. An exciting trio of youngsters are also in line for selection with Mohit Jaggi, Jake Hunter and Isaac Williams all in contention. Bayliss said he believed anything less than 100 per cent on the day would lead to defeat against the second-placed Bulls. “I just think we need to be at our very best as a team,” Bayliss said. “If we play as individuals, we’ll come unstuck I reckon. “I think conditions on the weekend are going to be wet. “If that is the case, it will depend on how well your small men play on the day. “But I’m expecting the captain (Bodhi Stubber) to rise on the weekend, I expect Mitch Green to come to the fore and for Matt Palfrey to be strong and competitive and for Zak Hortin to rise to the occasion. “It will come down to whoever gets first use of the ball. Both sides are very similar, they have a potent forward line just like us and I reckon whoever gets first use will get a score on the board. “I’m just looking forward to a good contest.” Royals will face Albany in the elimination final at Retravision Stadium on Saturday.