Albany captain Tait McLean and Railways skipper Bodhi Stubber give their thoughts on the GSFL grand final

Albany captain Tait McLean and Railways counterpart Bodhi Stubber will be hoping to lead their side to grand final glory in the Great Southern Football League on Sunday afternoon. McLean will captain the Sharks in a historic moment for the club, their first appearance in a league decider, after enduring plenty of pain over the last decade. Stubber is a dual premiership player with the Tigers and lifted the cup aloft last year as the skipper after their famous grand final win at McLean Park. A big afternoon awaits for McLean in the midfield while Stubber is a key pillar in the Tigers’ sound defensive unit. Tait McLean (Albany) What would winning the premiership mean to your club? I think it’s a culmination of what a lot of have been trying to work towards for a long time. I’ve been at the club for nine years but there’s been people there longer, so I think it would just be a reward for all the hard hours we’ve put in and it would just mean the world to a lot of people, including our supporters. What is the final message to players in the moments before the game? Just to play our footy would be the main message for us, pretty much just play the way I know we can play, that’s basically all I try to say, keep it simple. Who is the player who could break the game open for you, and why? Young Max Baker, he’s ready to rip it up. He’s got great skills and he’s so quick so he’s one for us that could kick four or five goals out of anywhere, he could break it open for us. What is it going to mean to lead your team into a league grand final? “It’s a massive step for us, even thinking just two years ago when we were losing by 80-odd points a game and in two year’s time we’ve made it to a grand final so I think it means a lot to me. I never really thought I’d be in this position, at least not for a few more years, it means everything. What is the most impressive thing about your opposition? I love how no matter who plays in their side, they just play the same style of footy and never really seem to dip off even when they have big outs, so that’s the most impressive thing about them, they drill that structure throughout their grades. Why is your team going to win on Sunday? We’ve got some real tough players at the moment and we’ve got some guys that are playing probably the best footy they have played all year, at the best time you want to be playing that best footy, so I think we’re peaking at a good time. Peakey’s definitely peaking at a good time and I think we just have some tough nuts that will help us. Bodhi Stubber (Railways) What would winning the premiership mean to your club? It would mean a fair bit, obviously to go back-to-back is always a special thing and with the majority of the same players, too. I think last year was a little bit of a surprise, so I think this year we’ve put in a better body of work and we probably deserve it a bit more this year. What is the final message to players in the moments before the game? I would just say enjoy the moment, we’ve been there before and have done it last year, so hopefully we can just settle first. I think after watching the Sharks on the weekend, our biggest thing will be starting well. Who is the player who could break the game open for you, and why? Obviously, besides Matty (Palfrey), I think a Kane Shephard going forward or a Beau Ewen through the middle, we saw in the final a couple of weeks ago that Beau broke the game open in the last quarter, one of those two I think. What is it going to mean to lead your team into a league grand final? It’s always special to have the club in a league final, obviously I’ve won two and probably played in six or seven but it’s always good to know and look back from that first day of preseason, you’re here on the last day of the season in September. What is the most impressive thing about your opposition? I think what they’ve worked towards over the last few years with Rammy (Jamie Ramm). I think the message has always been the same for those boys and you can see them develop and they’ve just kept the core group and added a few bits and pieces, so I think it’s a real credit to them and the club that they’ve made it to their first grand final. Why is your team going to win on Sunday? I just look at our group and last year, like I said it was a little bit of a surprise but I think this year we’ve sort of got a really good core group of 10-15 players in the right age bracket and we should probably be winning a couple of premierships while we’ve got all those players.