LAKE Nash Young Guns will be attempting to win their first AFL Mount Isa title since 2003 tomorrow against the Tigers at Legend Oval.
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Coming into the match on the back of eight straight wins, including three straight victories against the Tigers, the team’s confidence is sky-high.
Young Guns coach Rohan Webb said his players were raring to go, but would not be overawed by the occasion.
“All the boys are very excited, especially the younger ones, but we are going to use it to our advantage,” Webb said.
“There’s no point trying to keep their emotions in check, when a lot of our players are so instinctive and will feed off the emotion of the match. We also talked about not getting nervous and just playing our natural games, because that is what has got us here.”
Webb will be counting on the experience of veterans Clarence Campbell and Kelvin Ross to keep his side focused on the task at hand.
“I’ll be counting on Clarence to lead the boys on the field, because he has played for plenty of years and a lot of the younger players look up to him,” Webb said.
“Our midfield of Kelvin Ross, Nathan Ross and Lyndon Clegg will be counted on to control the tempo and ensure we play our style.”
Webb also welcomes back full-back Tristan Ray for the final.
He has missed the past couple of matches through illness.
“Tristan will help shore up our defensive unit and his presence will take some of the pressure off Allan Williams,” Webb said.
“Allan will be marking their main attacking threat, Brodie Deverell, which will allow Tristan to float around.”
With Jarryd Harrison ruled out through an arm injury, Webb acknowledges the Tigers will be more reliant on ruckman Jason Boydle.
“The Tigers will be looking to dominate the stoppages and Jason Boydle will be a big part of that,” he said. “Our ruckman Garrick Ray has done a handy job on him in the past few matches, so I expect him to contain Boydle again.”
While Webb can’t begin to explain how much the win would mean to his team, he is emphasising that the boys are determined to finish the season off strong.
“We have beaten the Tigers in our last three meetings and that is a reward of our hard work at training,” he said.
“I won’t be changing anything because there’s no point, as it is working fine.
“The boys have worked too hard this season for them not to give everything they have into the match.”
■The match starts at 2pm at Legend Oval (Sports Parade).