D-day for Rovers and Railways

Rovers are aiming for back-to-back GNFL flags with a win over Railways in Sunday’s league grand final at the Recreation Ground “The turnaround in the club’s fortunes has been fantastic in the past four years,” Rovers coach Ian Comben said. “You see that in our colts who were barely winning a game, plus there were red and yellow card issues . . . they’re in a grand final too. We’re confident but it’s a two-horse race — we lost in 2018 to Brigades when we were tipped so no complacency, I’ll make sure of that.” He said Edward Curley and Shannon Cox, were “highly likely” inclusions. Among many Demons stars this year are Judd McVee and Jack Eastough. “Not at all surprised with Judd, he showed signs last year,” Comben said. “The only surprise is he’s played six to eight quarters a round as he also plays colts and maintained a high standard and Eastough had the same workload and also impressed.” Rovers are much improved and Tom Denton is a big part of that. “He gives us a better level of fitness and a will to succeed — very focused,” Comben said. “We’re stronger with the two Simpsons (Kobe and Beau), Denton, Dwayne Nevill, Brandon Collard, Ray Taylor, Chris Scott and Carl Green coming in.” Railways’ Karl Pirrottina, said his team can win. “We’re confident in our style of football — we learnt from the second semi but must be at our best for longer,” Pirrottina said. “We were disappointed with last year’s finish and a big player turnover meant we had to find the right mix, but we’re in a good space at the right time. This is the club’s biggest challenge in my time but (Jesse) Moore and (James) Zampin played well last week coming off injuries.” Blake Bunter is a doubt after concussion and Antony Sercombe has work commitments. Among the Blues’ best are Ben O’Brien, Drew Tunbridge and Mitch Boyle. “O’Brien’s been great and unlucky last week not to have a few goals earlier,” Pirrottina said. “Tunbridge is the league’s best centre-half-back and his drive from defence is crucial, along with (Tristan) Simpson and (Dillon) Battistessa, while Kyle Watts gets better with age. Boyle is a midfield key, along with (Ben) Saunders, (Mitchell) Innis and (Matt) Kimberley.” For the final word, it’s back to Comben ... though Pirrottina would agree: “I feel a degree of excitement and of nervousness,” he said. And that’s just how it should be in a grand final.