Railways chase seventh league premiership, Albany out to win maiden flag in historic GSFL grand final

Railways are wary of a rising Albany side ahead of a historic Great Southern Football League grand final on Sunday at Collingwood Park. The Tigers and Sharks meet for the first time in a league decider and for only the second time in a league final after the Tigers won last year’s preliminary final between the pair by 52 points. The Sharks will add to their growing history when they play in a league grand final, a decade on from fielding their first league team. The Tigers will enter the match as favourites to win a seventh league premiership but coach Mark Bayliss said he was impressed by the Sharks’ preliminary final performance and his side must not take their opponents lightly. “It’s great for the competition to have the Sharks playing in their first league grand final,” Bayliss said. “They deserve their crack at it. “I was very impressed with them on the weekend, their delivery into the forwards and they moved the ball really quickly. “It could be a bit of a shootout to be honest and whoever can get more inside 50s and more scoring opportunities. “Both sides have got good forwards, I think we have a better defence and the midfields are pretty even but if we give them first use in the middle then we are in trouble.” The Tigers will be out to win back-to-back flags for the third time in their history, having done so in 1985-86 and 2012-13. Bayliss said his side would likely go into their third successive grand final unchanged from the qualifying final win over Mt Barker. That side contained 17 premiership players with Ryley Valli, Josh Duffield, Beau Ewen, Clay Michael and Fraser Grant chasing their first league premiership medallion. Premiership player Matt Van Schayk missed the qualifying final with work and is waiting in the wings but Bayliss said it was hard to change a winning team. “We have everyone available,” Bayliss said. “I’ve got a squad of 26 with Jake Hunter, Matt Van Schayk, Declan Willey and Isaac Williams but if I had to make a decision right now they would all miss out.” Grant is likely to get the job on Sharks star Brett Peake, who has kicked 10 goals in the two finals so far this year and Bayliss said the week off held his side in good stead for a physical contest. “This is a great opportunity for the club to create some more history,” he said. “It’s exciting to be a part of and as a coach it’s been a driving force for me. “At the end of the day I want to see the players enjoy the day and outcome is what we want it to be.” The Sharks are expected to be unchanged from the preliminary final with Jayden Zilm, who is battling a groin injury, the only possible change coach Jamie Ramm and his selectors will consider. In their short history as a league team the Sharks have never beaten their grand final opponent. This season the Sharks went down by 51 points in round 15, lost by 38 points in round 10 and in round five suffered a 95-point defeat. Ramm said despite history being against the GSFL’s newest club, their players were daring to dream. “So far it’s been very good, the players have handled it really well,” he said. “Of course we do(dare to dream), it’s a grand final and anything can happen. “We are up against a side we’ve never beaten but I believe this is the best Sharks team we’ve ever put on the park. Of course we are up against it but we need four quarters of footy and we were very good last week. “Railways are a side that when we first started here we looked up to, how they play and how they talk. “They are very even and then of course they’ve got Matt Palfrey. “We’ll look at him and a few other players and we’ve got some plans.” Ruckman Stewart Davies, who has been brought in and played the past five games, is the only Sharks player to have won a GSFL league premiership. He was a premiership player with North Albany in 2015 and 2016, the second coming when they beat the Tigers. Ramm said he has looked to some of their most seasoned players during the finals to help the young Sharks group. “We’ve got a couple of players with some real experience,” Ramm said. “Brett (Peake) is massive along with Matt Martin, Isaac Baum has had a fair bit of grand final experience and Kane Pinney as well and they are the leaders in their different lines. “We have a very young midfield and this is still development of a club but making a grand final is a start to where we want to be playing in years to come. “This would probably be ahead of my prediction of where we would be at when I took this on but once you are there you are, you are there to win a grand final.”