Queanbeyan derbies are fiery encounters at the best of times in the TTM Canberra Raiders Cup, but with grand final glory on the line along with the bragging rights of two competitive coaches whom work together, the 2013 grand final is sure to be remembered for a long, long time.
Blues Coach Simon Woolford and Kangaroos Coach Aaron Gorrell work with each other at Clean Machine, have been exchanging plenty of banter in the lead up to the grand final as Woolford’s side attempts to win the title for the first time since 2008 and Gorrell’s side, in their fourth grand final in a row, are looking to seek retribution for last year’s painful loss.
Woolford and Gorrell are close mates and have had a relationship stemming back from their time sharing the hooking role at St George Illawarra in their playing days however their fondness for each other will be forgotten when Sunday rolls around.
“We’ve obviously spent a fair bit of time together and we’re good mates but come Sunday I won’t be talking to him for a week if they beat us,” laughed Woolford. “On Sunday the competitive juices will definitely be there and we’ll both be doing our best to get our teams over the line.
“There’s always a bit of banter in the lead-up to Queanbeyan derbies at work but we keep our cards pretty close to our chests.”
Whilst Gorrell added; “The winner will have bragging rights for the next few months so I’m hoping we win. There’s been a bit of banter on at work and I’m pretty sure the bet is that the loser will have to work Monday and the winner will have the day off so hopefully it’s not me!”
Both sides have beaten each other one a piece throughout the season whilst the Blues toppled the Kangaroos in the first week of finals to ascend straight to the grand final.
“What’s happened before Sunday doesn’t really count and we know that,” Woolford said. “We’re playing against a team that has been there for the last three years and we’re going to be up against it but we’ll be ready.
“There’s going to be two desperate teams that think they can win and will be desperate to win. We’ll need to bring our ‘A Game’ and I don’t see why we won’t bring it given that it’s a grand final. I’m anticipating that our boys will turn up ready to go.”
Gorrell believes his side will need to lift to take on the high-flying Blues and will be using last year’s heartache as a major motivational tool.
Historically over the last few years, the side that has won the major semi-final has gone onto lose the grand final and the 2011 premiership winning coach will be hoping that will again be the case in 2013.
“There’s a bit of motivation this year after what happened last year,” Gorrell said. “It’s always in the back of our minds and no one wants to go through it again so I’m sure that when it gets tough out there the blokes that have been there before will dig deep and we’ll come up with the goods.
“We’ve had a tough run to get there and they’ve had the week off but hopefully that plays in our favour. In the last couple of years whoever has won the major-semi hasn’t ended up winning the grand final so hopefully that trend continues.
“There will be no second chances on Sunday so we need to make the most of it because there will be two tough sides going at it so hopefully after the 80th minute we’ll be ahead.”
With brilliant, sunny conditions forecast for Sunday and the Raiders playing in New Zealand on Saturday, a bumper crowd is expected at Seiffert Oval on Sunday especially given that the Blues and the Kangaroos will be contesting the grand final in both first grade and reserve grade.
The match between the Blues and the Kangaroos kicks off at 3:00pm on Sunday at Seiffert Oval.
Source: http://www.raiders.com.au/news-display/raiders/83207
Topic: Canberra Raiders Cup GRAND FINAL Preview: Queanbeyan Blues v Queanbeyan Roos
