JOSH Brown would love nothing more than to mark his first season as captain-coach of Abercrombie FC than to win a Bathurst District Football men's premier league grand final.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But to earn a spot in the decider will not be an easy task.
When Brown's men get their first chance to qualify this Sunday in the major semi-final they will square off with runaway minor premiers Lithgow Workmans Club.
Still, while finishing the regular season 15 points behind Lithgow in second, Brown feels Abercrombie can get the job done in Sunday's qualifier.
"Our confidence levels are pretty good," Brown said.
"We have had a good run into the final, except for last week, but we were five players down last week and one of them was our goalkeeper."
Hoping most of his team will be able to compete on Sunday, a win for Abercrombie will give Brown the chance to play for his first premiership as both a coach and a captain.
"I've been captain for about three years, but this is my first year also coaching," he said.
"Abercrombie's last grand final win was in 2015 I believe, and they have played in the grand final every year since then."
READ ALSO: St Pat's under 13s want to slay the Dragons
READ ALSO: Renshaw to tour Britain one last time
With a lot of injuries throughout the season, Abercrombie has had to rely on second grade players in a lot of their games. However, Brown said they all stepped up and played well.
In particular Brown has been impressed with how Abercrombie has improved in defence as the season has progressed.
"We have had a very good last half of the season, which is what you want heading into finals," he said. "We're the only team to have defeated Lithgow two times this season, so the boys are happy about that."
Meanwhile, Panorama FC will see some club rivalry with their Red and Black teams facing off in the minor semi-final.
Finishing third on the ladder with nine wins, Panorama Black is hoping to one-up last week's performance when drawing 1-all against Red.
"Last week was a tight game," Black coach Brock Collins said. "It will be the same this week and could go either way, but hopefully the boys can get the job done."
Having sat second on the ladder for most of the season, Collins feels Panorama Black were a little unlucky to finish in third and now be facing sudden death.
"It was a tricky year this year," Collins said.
"We've had about six players out due to injuries and suspensions and we have also now lost our main striker."
As Collins indicated, Jacob Soetens, who scored 20 goals this season for Black, has been suspended for the remainder of the year.
If victorious on Sunday, Black will face the loser of the major semi-final in a battle for the remaining grand final berth.
It would mean surviving two sudden death games, but Collins is confident his side can earn a title shot.
"It would be great if we could make the preliminary final," he said.
"It's finals footy and anything could happen, but I am confident in the team's ability."
Both major and minor semi-finals are scheduled for 3pm this Sunday at Proctor Park.