SATURDAY'S upcoming AFL Central West men's grand final berth is the culmination of years of hard work, training and dedication from the Bathurst Giants.
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After two years of preliminary final disappointments the Giants men took the next step to reach their first decider, which came as a satisfying achievement for a team who had set their expectations low for the 2020 season.
And what makes the occasion even more exciting is that cross-city rivals Bathurst Bushrangers will be their opponents.
Giants go into the first ever all-Bathurst senior men's grand final with not an ounce of pressure on their shoulders, and will just look to soak up the atmosphere and give the unbeaten Bushrangers a big fight.
Coach Mark Kennedy has experienced every emotion grand final day can throw at you, but there's one he wants his team to focus on: Enjoyment.
"There's no expectations for us with the result on the weekend. We'll go out, put a solid team on the paddock and hopefully compete," he said.
"Sometimes the football gods are with you and sometimes they're against you. I've previously coached a grand final win and I've coached a grand final loss after an unbeaten season, so I know about the highs and lows of the day.
"We want to enjoy the moment because we've exceeded the expectations for our season. We just want to put on a good show."
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Giants will still have ambitions of pulling off the upset against a team who have had the edge on them this year.
They got within 37 points of the Bushrangers in the round one match but were well outclassed in the next two clashes, giving up 15 goals to their Bathurst rivals in both games.
However, the Giants enter the finale on a four game winning streak and their best quarter of the season to date in the preliminary final success against the Dubbo Demons.
We want to enjoy the moment because we've exceeded the expectations for our season.
- Mark Kennedy
Giants utterly blindsided the Demons with the way they came out and played the last term, kicking six goals to none.
The 39 to three final term was an example of a team adapting to instructions to the letter and putting on a ruthless display of attacking football.
More of that precision play and intensity off the football will get the Giants within striking distance of the Bushrangers.
Kennedy has been thrilled by the way the club have played of late, leading to a season of surprising success.
"It's great to consolidate on a year that we started out expecting not to do that well. But we had a couple of guys step up throughout the year and a couple of players come back to help us out. Our numbers grew and our depth improved," he said.
"That last quarter against Dubbo we played some phenomenal football. We talked a lot about roles and the responsibilities that come with each of them. They all clicked. Everyone switched on to what we talked about the get the job done.
"It is really hard to maintain that for four quarters. Any football team would struggle with that, but it's just so good to be there.
"There's really no pressure on us at all. We're just going out there to enjoy the day."
The match at George Park 2 gets underway from 2,30pm, rounding out a big day's play after the tier two (10.45am) and women's (12.30pm) grand finals.