Sport
Allan Matheson Shield | Redlegs full of confidence ahead of preliminary final showdown
Tallygaroopna is just one step away from a chance at grand final redemption, as it gears up for a preliminary final showdown with Kyabram on Saturday afternoon.
The Redlegs were gallant in their performance against six-time reigning premier Shepparton Golf in the second semi-final last week, recovering from a heavy early deficit to fall 14-98 to 4-83 in what ended up being a tight finish.
Reflecting on his side’s loss, Tallygaroopna skip Mark Ryan said there were a lot of positives to take out of the performance, as focus quickly shifts to the next assignment.
“We just said we wanted to push them to the end and not drop in a bundle if we went down big early. We knew that if things went well, we could get them at the end and unfortunately we just couldn’t quite pip them,” Ryan said.
“Last week is behind us now and we turn our attention to a new challenge in Kyabram. We’ve had a good year and we don’t want to let that slip, we are keen to rebound, and as soon as last week’s game finished, we started to set ourselves for this game.”
Standing between Tallygaroopna and its chance at avenging last year’s grand final defeat is a Kyabram side that limped into the finals with four straight losses, but rebounded strongly with a 12-94 to 6-86 win over Tatura-Hill Top.
Having dismantled the Bombers by 42 shots just a fortnight ago, Ryan said he was confident his side could deliver a similar performance during the pressure cooker of a preliminary final.
“They only had one rink that won last weekend, being Greg Shilling’s, so if we can keep that rink in check and everyone else has good games in the other three, we will be quietly hoping that we can get across the line,” he said.
“We take a lot of confidence (out of our big win against them three weeks ago), but we know they have quality across the board, and we will never underestimate the power of Kyabram.”
And while defeating Kyabram will be the Redlegs’ top priority, minds may wander to a grand final showdown with Shepparton Golf in a fortnight’s time, as Tally hopes to be the team that brings the Golfers’ reign to an end.
“We finished runners-up last year and know we are thereabouts again this year. We have got to go through all the motions and make sure we play well every week, especially this week against Kyabram,” he said.
“We want to be back there on that last Sunday of the season and hopefully have another crack at Shepparton Golf, so we are definitely fired up.”