THEY don’t like each other much and would love to cause the other some finals grief.
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They are at the opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of club history but already they have built an intense rivalry.
North Launceston and the Western Storm meet tomorrow night at Aurora Stadium in a final-round TSL cross-town rivalry clash which will have plenty of feeling and high stakes for both clubs.
The Northern Bombers need to win to finish third and gain a vital finals double chance.
The Storm must win to finish on top and enjoy the benefits of a week off and a home final the following week.
‘‘There’s a fair bit of reward available about 9 o’clock Friday night for whichever side wins,’’ North Launceston coach Zane Littlejohn said yesterday.
‘‘Even if we were last and they were on top, our boys would be pretty fired up and vice versa because it’s the Storm and we don’t like them.
‘‘Our boys generally get up for these games and obviously the extra incentive of the reward at the end will help with that and we understand that the reward is pretty significant for us.’’
The record is 1-1 this season with North winning their round 4 clash by 11 points after the Storm’s first Foxtel Cup appearance, while the Storm got home by four points in round 13.
Western Storm coach Mitch Hills said the rivalry between the clubs had already become strongly established and they were keen to continue building it.
‘‘Every time we play them it’s a big game but it’s the last roster game and it couldn’t have been scripted any better,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re going for top spot to have a week off and set ourselves up for finals.
‘‘They need to win obviously for a double chance so there’s plenty on the line for both clubs, which is exciting.’’
City Park Radio (103.7 FM) will broadcast the North Launceston v Western Storm game tomorrow from 6.35pm.