Altona’s zest for finals footy has been shining through in the first two weeks of the WRFL division 1 post-season.
The Vikings entered the finals with nothing to lose, qualifying in fourth spot.
Despite a first-up win over Spotswood, the Vikings came into the semi-finals as underdogs.
After Sunday’s convincing 44-point win over third-ranked Werribee Districts in the first semi-final at Burbank Oval, the Vikings are starting to get “greedy”, coach Saade Ghazi said.
“We just can’t wait for the next one,” Ghazi told Star Weekly. “It’s what you play and coach footy for at this time of the year, to be in finals and winning games of footy and playing on big grounds, like Williamstown and Werribee.
“It’s exciting, a good opportunity for the young blokes.
“We have the three teams playing in preliminary finals down at Werribee next week, so we’re very proud so far of the effort. At the same time, we’re greedy and we want to win more finals games,” Ghazi said. “We’ve won two finals and we’ve won them convincingly … obviously it gets harder with Hoppers.
“We’re in a prelim final at senior level, and we’re in it to win it.”
When playing assistant coach Jayden Post and midfielder Abdul Jawad – both rated in the Vikings top five in Ghazi’s estimation – went down with injury, Altona was almost instantly dismissed as a challenger.
This was despite flashing their credentials with victory over premiership favourite Deer Park earlier in the year.
What the Vikings needed was a lift from the collective.
Ghazi sought improvement not only from the youngsters on the list, but also the more seasoned campaigners.
“I think our younger group is improving and that’s exciting,” he said. “At the same time, our more experienced players are actually improving as well.
“That’s what we need because we’re not going to be a club that goes out and recruits a heap of players.
“I think Jordy Robbins has improved; I know he’s probably an elite player, but I’ve had people tell me he’s improved again.
“Travis Lunardi has improved, Joel Magnabosco has improved, so I think, as a coach, you want to improve your younger group, but you also want to get the best out of your senior group as well.”
Altona led at every change en route to a comfortable win over Werribee Districts.
For the second final in a row, Magnabosco was the Vikings’ best, while Mitch Turnbull made it 10 goals in two finals with a bag of six.
Ghazi would not get drawn on the exploits of individuals, rather praising the collective.
“I think why we’ve had the success that we’ve had in the finals is we’ve had a really good contribution from the 22,” he said.
“Everyone has played their role.”
Altona will go into its preliminary final against Hoppers Crossing at Avalon Airport Oval in Werribee on a six-day turnaround.
Most teams would dread the short break, but the Vikings are jumping out of their skins for Saturday to arrive.
