NORTH Launceston coach Zane Littlejohn said his side will go into tomorrow’s TSL grand final against Western Storm confident but not overconfident of premiership success.
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The Northern Bombers will be playing in their first senior grand final since 2003 and chasing the club’s first premiership flag since 1998.
‘‘At this time of the year in the last game of the season, you have to be confident because if you are going in not confident you are half-beaten already,’’ Littlejohn said.
‘‘It’s exciting and obviously only two sides can make the grand final, and any accolade like this is something the club is proud of and welcomes with open arms.
‘‘When I took the job on we spoke about getting North back to where it was in the old TSL and being a successful club, and it is definitely something that will mean a lot not just to our players but to the club and all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.’’
Littlejohn said the week off had been invaluable in helping his players freshen up physically and mentally for the grand final.
But he faces some selection dilemmas with forward Zac Burt available to return from suspension and a full list – meaning at least one unlucky player will miss out.
‘‘Tough decisions need to be made whether Zac comes back in or misses out, and we’ve had 36 players play seniors this year and those 36 are the reason why we are where we are,’’ Littlejohn said.
Having coached the club’s under-18 side to a state league premiership in 2010, he said winning a senior grand final was every coach’s aspiration.
Littlejohn wanted his players to experience the feeling of playing in and winning a grand final as the Western Storm core group did last year with South Launceston.
‘‘They know what it takes to win and a lot of their players have been part of it, and that is a feather in their cap and something they can take into the game.
‘‘One of our goals this year was to try to be more experienced in certain situations and one of them was to play on TSL grand final day.
‘‘They have the understanding of the reward at the end – the Storm players know the ultimate reward, having experienced that, whereas our group hasn’t.
‘‘That’s the feeling we want to have so in future games when it gets to the nitty-gritty we know what the feeling is and have to dig deep.’’