THE Huskisson-Vincenita Seagulls are riding high after three straight wins, in which they have scored a combined 14 goals, while only conceding two.
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The most recent of those wins was in last Sunday’s minor semi-final, where they came back to defeat Culburra 2-1.
Coincidentally, the last time Rob Hawker’s Seagulls didn’t taste victory came against Gerringong on August 11, when they drew 1-all with the Breakers at the Huskisson Sporting Field – who is their opponent in this Saturday’s preliminary final at Ison Park.
“When we played Gerringong a month ago, we had plenty of chances to win that game, while one poor defensive lapse allowed them to score their goal, “ Hawker said.
“We are a vastly better side than we were a month ago and we are going to need to be, because semi-finals are a different proposition.
“That was shown against Culburra last week and we are going to have to produce another 90-minute performance this week to beat Gerringong.
“Differently this week though, we expect Gerringong to be a little more dangerous from an attacking sense.
“They have numerous attacking threats, such as Kane Rowe and Jordan Lando, so we are going to have to be on our games and mark them well otherwise they will punish us.
“Then at the other end of the field, we need to take our chances, because you don’t get too many in semi-finals.
“On top of that, we need a little luck to go our way, because you could play really well and do everything right but still not progress – we need all these things to fall into place for us to get through to the final against Bomaderry.”
Constrastingly to the red-hot Seagulls, the Breakers come into the match off a 3-1 loss to Bomaderry – made worse with the suspensions of Andy Lockard and Luke Nolan.
“Despite the loss, training has been solid this week and the whole club has really stepped up and is supporting us all the way,” Breakers coach Jadon Lavington said.
“In terms of replacing Andy [Lockard] and Luke [Nolan], I don’t see it as a problem, as we have plenty of players available and keen to bounce back from our previous match.
“In saying that, we know it’s going to be tough [against Huskison-Vincenita] but I think if we can control their inform players, such as Josh Hawker and Gary Neimeier, we will come out on top.”
While Lavington’s men are keen to qualify for their third straight grand final, his troops aren’t getting too far ahead of themselves.
“It’s a privilege to play in a grand final and we cherish those types of games,” he said.
"This weekend is no different – we’re just focusing on the game this weekend and will go from there.”
Earlier in the day at Ison Park will be two lower grade preliminary finals, starting with the third grade clash between Culburra and Bomaderry at 11am followed by reserve grade at 1pm between Huskisson-Vincentia and Bomaderry.