Boddington and Wickepin square off in highly anticipated Upper Great Southern Football League grand final

Wickepin coach Brendan Wattleworth is wary of a strong Boddington outfit in the Upper Great Southern Football League grand final on Sunday in Williams, as his side aim to end a 14-year premiership drought. The Warriors last won an UGSFL premiership in 2008 and have lost three grand finals since, but they have been a red-hot force this season, losing just one game to Narrogin in round 12. They defeated Katanning Wanderers by 40 points in the second semifinal to progress straight into the decider. Wattleworth was hopeful of taking an unchanged side into the grand final. “We are focused on what we need to do and play the way we have played all season, we think that it is going to hold us in good stead so that’s our main focus,” he said. “Both times we’ve played them this year, they haven’t been at full strength and they had a few players come back last week. “The team that we’re going to come up against on Sunday will be the strongest team that they’ve put against us this year.” Wattleworth said the Eagles had terrific top-end talent but the Warriors had a team-based approach. “They’ve obviously got a couple of dangerous players that we’ll keep an eye on but it’s more about how we go about the game more so,” he said. “A big focus from us has been not to rely on any one individual to have a standout game all season. “We rely on every player across the board to have an impact in some way, shape or form and that’s another thing that’s held us in good stead all year. “We haven’t relied on one player to be our sole focus up forward or one midfielder to rack up 40 (disposals) and three (goals), we have a very even spread and that’s one of our strengths.” The Warriors’ last grand final triumph came in 2008 when they beat Williams by eight points and Wattleworth was hoping his side could return to title success. “Wickepin’s one of the smaller clubs in the association,” he said. “For the club to be able to get through to the grand final with the amount of numbers we have available, it’s a pretty big effort.” Eagles coach Gary Gillespie said despite a few injury concerns, his side would look to field a strong outfit capable of upsetting the Warriors in the decider. “We’ll obviously be looking to field out best side and I wish it was that easy,” he said. “We’ve faced a lot of adversity with injuries and player availability, it hasn’t been an enviable task but we’ve found our way through. “It’s something that we’re pretty excited about, Wickepin have recruited well and they’ve got some big bodies which is something that has eluded us. “We’re not exactly blessed with height but we’re definitely blessed with fight, so we’ll be doing our best to field who we think will get the job done.” Gillespie acknowledged the dominance of the Warriors this season but is adamant his side can cause an upset if they play their best football. The Eagles will be chasing a third league flag in five years on Sunday after going back-to-back in 2018-19. “It’s all about the day, it’s all about the bounce of that ball,” he said. “You look at our first final against Kukerin-Dumbleyung, we were battling to kick a point and then in our second preliminary final we were battling to kick goals. “I always say the harder part of any finals series is just getting there and we’re there now, so anything is possible.” The league grand final will start at 2.30pm. UPPER GREAT SOUTHERN FOOTBALL LEAGUE GRAND FINALS Sunday, September 4 at Williams Fourths 9am - Narrogin v Katanning Wanderers Thirds 10.30am - Narrogin v Katanning Wanderers Reserves noon - Narrogin v Brookton-Pingelly League 2.30pm - Wickepin v Boddington