By: Joseph Arthur
Ringwood and Mitcham will meet this Sunday in the Division 2 grand final in a highly-anticipated contest.
Ringwood, whose last senior flag was in 2005, comes in fresh off the bye after defeating the minor premier Boronia in the first semi-final a fortnight ago after five goals from Mitch Farmer, and will be looking to atone for 2018’s grand final defeat.
As for Mitcham, after first defeating Heathmont in extra-time, it sent Boronia packing in straight sets, defeating the Hawks by three goals in last weekend’s preliminary final.
Mitcham senior playing-coach Neil Winterton said the Tigers will need to carry over much of what they did right against Boronia, into the big dance.
“First and foremost our pressure was probably the highest it’s been all season and that was probably the reason we were able to stay on top throughout the whole game (last weekend),” Winterton said.
“If we’re going to win again this week against a really good Ringwood team, our pressure is obviously going to have to be at a really high level.”
The Tigers have gone without a week-off through this finals series and if they are to win on the weekend then some sore bodies will need to rally one final time.
Despite the general soreness, Winterton said he views the extra finals practice as an advantage, giving the team continuity and allowing its form to build unimpeded.
“I think when you’re playing good footy and you’ve got your confidence up, you want to keep playing, sometimes the week off can stunt that a little bit,” Winterton said.
“We’re certainly comfortable with the situation we’re in.”
The last match-up between the two sides was in Round 16 when Ringwood defeated Mitcham to the tune of 47 points, thanks to six goals from dynamic forward Mitch Farmer.
Winterton said his side revisited the footage of that meeting and will look to nullify Ringwood’s strengths and formulate a more effective plan to slow down the dangerous Farmer.
“They did a lot of things well that day so we’ll try our best to nullify their strengths, but you’ve certainly got to concentrate pretty heavily on yourself and make sure you play to your strengths and do the things you’re good at,” he said.
“He’s (Mitch Farmer) going to be hard to shut totally out of the game but if we can limit his influence as best we can, that will certainly go a long way to us winning the game.”
Like his counterpart, Ringwood coach Brett Rowe went back to the previous match between the two sides for some insight into how to approach the weekend.
Rowe said it’s important for his players to understand the different circumstances coming into this game, however at the same time, past match-ups play a role in their preparation and won’t be ignored.
“We took a look at some things we did really well (in the previous match-up) and what we were able to stop Mitcham from doing, but grand finals are a different kettle of fish and there’s a lot that can happen and change,” Rowe said.
“It’s going to be a different contest from what it was three or four weeks ago.”
Coming up against a side in such strong form is always tough and Rowe said he is wary of the impact momentum can have, however he won’t let it waver the team’s focus and preparation.
“You know you’re going to be up for a real contest against them (Mitcham),” Rowe said.
“They’re playing with some real freedom so you’ve just got to be ready to embrace the contest that’s going to come.
“We just need to make sure we get a good even contribution – as long as everyone’s playing their role we think we can get the job done.
“We won’t change too much and we’ve prepared ourselves as best we can.”
The two sides will face-off at East Burwood Reserve on Sunday afternoon with the match commencing at 2:20pm.
