Seagulls and Tigers duel for place in decider

BARWON Heads co-coach Sam Schaller says his side will hope to avoid repeating the same result as last year’s Second Qualifying Final against Torquay.

Schaller’s Seagulls side, alongside co-coach Mitch Herbison, can book a spot to the Bellarine Football League (BFL) Grand Final with a win over the Tigers this Saturday (August 26) in Portarlington.

The Seagulls have yet to triumph over the Tigers in 2023, but a narrow win over Drysdale last week has settled the nerves for some of the side’s younger players.

“We spoke about nerves on Saturday at quarter time against Drysdale and just focused on getting a good start to settle things down; getting a couple of clearances, a few scores on the scoreboard, the same will be the case on the weekend against Torquay,” Schaller said.

“Torquay is obviously a fantastic side, they jumped us early in this final last year, and controlled the game from there, so we’ve got to be ready no matter the conditions and turn it into a real contest from the first minute.”

Barwon Heads is coming off a thrilling two-point win over Drysdale in the Qualifying Final led by Brock Close’s four goals.

Schaller praised Close ahead of Saturday, but also noted Torquay’s strong defensive players.

“Brock’s great at his craft, because he’s not a high possession player, but he’s very accurate in front of goal,” Schaller said.

“What really pleased us with Brock last weekend was not so much his goals, but more so his contest work, and I dare say he’s going to have a big matchup on either Ben McNamara or Max Hurley.

“We’re not expecting him to kicks bags of goals, but we’ll need him to make contests for us and get the footy to ground, which should prevent Torquay from controlling the game in that respect.”

Playing coach Mitch Herbison missed out on the Qualifying Final against the Hawks due to ongoing knee concerns, but Schaller is confident last year’s premiership captain will return to the fold in Week Two.

“He’s missed a few now, Mitch, so while we have that second chance up our sleeve, there’s no real need to push the button so to speak,” Schaller said.

“Each week we can keep progressing is a step closer to him being 100 per cent. He’ll either play this week or definitely in our next game the week or fortnight after that.”

Torquay and Barwon Heads kick off at 2pm Saturday on Ron Evans Oval, with the loser to play in the Preliminary Final next week against the winner of Sunday’s Semi Final between Drysdale and Anglesea.

The winner will receive a week off before playing in the BFL decider in Newcomb.

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