WHEN St Pat’s line up against Mudgee Gold in Saturday’s under 12s Group 10 Junior Rugby League grand final, they will be attempting to spring one of the biggest upsets in the entire competition.
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Mudgee Gold is not only the three-time defending premiers, but as that playing group has advanced through the age divisions, they have also gone undefeated.
Still, Pat’s coach Tony England knows Gold are not invincible. His Saints produced a 12-all draw with them earlier in the season and said the Mudgee team will carry all the pressure into the decider.
“We get to go in as the underdog, which is always good because there is no pressure involved. Mudgee have got all that pressure because they’ve got to defend it all,” England said.
“This team I’m taking to the grand final, not a single kid has been to a grand final before, so it’s a big game for all 21 of the boys.”
The Saints earned a spot in the grand final thanks to a hard-fought 14-12 win over Bloomfield last Saturday. It was the just the second time in two years they had beaten the Orange side and indicates the sort of form the blue and whites are in.
“I’m really, really impressed and proud of the way the boys are playing, I think they are playing some of the best football I’ve seen them play,” England said.
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“They’ve come a really long way from the start of the year and they truly do have a good shot at winning the grand final.”
So, the question now is – how do the Saints beat Mudgee? According to England, it will be a matter of consistency.
“I think we need to be consistent across the field, we need to make sure our defence is strong and that we don’t drop the ball in attack. We need to maintain good ball security in attack as Mudgee are extremely consistent and don’t make a lot of mistakes,” he said.
“If we can match their consistency, hopefully we can force them to make mistakes.
“If all the boys come switched on and ready to play, I think we can absolutely beat Mudgee. We just have to make sure we are ready to go on the day.”
Kick-off in Saturday’s grand final at Cowra’s Sid Kallas Oval will be at 11am.
