GSFL 2024: Fully fit Mt Barker primed to make dream finals run ahead of elimination final clash with Railways

Mt Barker are hoping their “three-headed monster” can lead them to victory in their blockbuster Great Southern Football League elimination final with rivals Railways on Sunday. The two sides will put their seasons on the line at Tigerland, and it will be just the second time this season Bulls spearheads Ashley Wallam, Zach Jackson and Sam Lehmann will play together. Last weekend was the first time the star trio were in the same forward line and they combined for 12 goals in the narrow loss to Albany, as the Bulls fielded their strongest team of the season. “Last week, was probably the first time we’ve had a full squad for a long, long time,” Bulls coach Brad Hook said. “When you’ve got a three-headed monster like that . . . we’re going to put them (Wallam, Jackson and Lehmann) all down there and try and put Railways under pressure. “We’ll definitely be going in there to 100 per cent do-or-die — nobody wants to finish their season off just yet.” The Bulls have lost each of their three encounters this season against their finals opponent with two of them coming on their home deck of Sounness Park. But Hook firmly believes his side is poised to break the hoodoo and defeat their bogey side as they aim to make a dream run to an elusive flag. “I think all of us think that if we can play our best football, then we’re going to give ourselves a really good chance of going deep into the finals,” he said. “We haven’t beat (Railways) this year, so there’s something else to prove there.” Hook said that Jye Williss will come into selection calculations but ruled out forward Brodie Duffield. The Tigers have been in great form heading into the do-or-die clash, winning five of their last six games, their only loss coming against the Sharks by six points. Player-coach Bodhi Stubber said has found their groove in time to pursue a fourth straight grand final appearance. “I believe we are peaking right time of the year,” Stubber said. “We’re playing good footy. We’re probably just a bit unlucky that a few games earlier in the year didn’t go our way, and we’ve ended up in third spot. “I suppose we’ve been playing with that (do-or-die) attitude for the last four or five weeks, which is why we have been hitting our straps. “We just have to play this weekend like it’s a grand final.” Stubber confirmed the Tigers will make a swag of changes from last week’s match with co-captain Jayden Scott, 2022 Alan Barnett medallist Beau Ewen, midfield star Bailey Bennett and versatile forward Jaxon Lombardini all set to return. Despite the lengthy list of changes, Stubber insisted it would not hamper his side’s preparations with a lack of squad continuity. “With the mentality, we’ve had over the last four or five weeks, it can be quite taxing playing that high intensity footy . . . (They’ll be) feeling fresh and revitalised,” he said. “Those blokes coming in fresh will do us a world of good.” Stubber said he is not feeling the pressure to keep the club’s glorious finals run going, with the club juggling a premiership pursuit and a rebuild. “I think everyone always likes to be playing on grand final day and winning premierships but at the same time, this year was a bit of a changing of the guard of bringing in a lot of youth and different blokes into the senior side,” he said. “So, we can have longevity and yeah, success into the future as well.” The Tigers will likely be without ageing veterans Zak Hortin (hamstring) and Mitch Green (calf) while Dylan Schorer (shoulder) is also set to miss. Bouncedown is at 2.30pm on Sunday with the winner advancing to the preliminary final next week.