Altona Roosters are 80 minutes away from back-to-back premierships in the Victorian Rugby League first grade.
The Roosters will get the chance to defend their title after
crushing Waverley Oakleigh Panthers 32-16 in a preliminary final at
Fregon Reserve on Saturday.
It was not the best week to catch the Roosters, with the reigning
champions stinging after their semi-final loss to Sunbury United Tigers.
Those two sides will be at it again in Saturday’s grand final at Langama Park, with revenge on the Roosters’ minds.
“It was good to be able to bounce back after the week before,”
Roosters captain Ben James said. “We knew they [the Panthers] were going
to be a danger game because we played them in the last round of the
season and they knocked us off, so it was important we turned up with
our heads on … we played heaps better than the week before.”
The Roosters hardly put a foot wrong in their disposal of the
Panthers, leading from start to finish in a near-flawless performance.
Winger Ryan Lambert put the finishing touches on the victory with
two tries. The new recruit has been a revelation since moving south.
“He’s come down from Brisbane this year with his girlfriend and been a great addition to our outside backs,” James said.
Full-back Phillip Pese, veteran forward Patrick Kuru and player-coach Mike Hurinui were outstanding.
Pese was impenetrable on the last line and bullet-like with ball in hand.
The on-field leadership of Kuru and Hurinui is proving valuable
for the Roosters. The two seasoned campaigners are pointing the way for
the younger players in the side.
“They’ye a couple of old heads and it’s good to have them around,”
James said. “They’re extremely passionate, they love the club.
“It’s good that these older guys feel the responsibility to lead the younger guys through and show them the way.”
The grand final will be a Roosters-Tigers affair for the second
year running. In recent times, little has separated the two western
clubs.
The Tigers will be favourites by virtue of their No. 1 finals
ranking and cool disposal of the Roosters in the semis, but they need
only to rewind the clock back 12 months to remember what kind of threat
the Roosters can be when the spring action arrives.
There is a good vibe in the chook pen, with the Roosters also featuring in the reserve-grade grand final.
“It’s tremendous for the club,” James said. “We’re definitely soaking it up.”
