The Country Eagles won a double chance last weekend with a stirring five-point win over reigning premier Old Scotch, while Lilydale kicked 26 goals to one after half-time to complete a 174-point thumping of Perth. 

Nevertheless, both sides will enter the match confident of securing the first available grand final spot.

“We’re as confident as we can be going into this week,” Evandale boss Anthony Axton said.

“It was a really good win (last week) and probably our biggest win of the season, when it’s finals the games mean a lot more and it was good the group stood up.”

RELATED: Photos from Lilydale vs Perth

Axton said Lilydale’s second-half display against Perth was a timely warning of what the Demons could do at their best. 

‘Their ball use is as good if not better than anyone, so we’re certainly going to pressure their ball-carriers because if they get uncontested possession they’ll cut you up with their foot skills.”

Bradley Scott-Power will miss for Evandale after sustaining a knee injury in the last match, however Sam Hughes and Warwick Johnson could return.

Lilydale emerged from its elimination final unscathed and will have a squad of 26 to pick from for Saturday’s match.

“We’ve had a bit of a horrid run this year with injuries and things like that but we’re starting to get a few back,” Lilydale coach Thane Bardenhagen said.

“We’ve had some continuity over the past few weeks and our results have shown our improvement so we’re definitely on the right track.” 

OLD SCOTCH’s quest for a fifth-consecutive flag requires them to win their next three games, starting with a knockout semi-final against East Coast on Sunday. 

The two teams fielded vastly different sides in their two previous clashes this year, with Old Scotch recording a 52-point win in round 5 and East Coast winning by 65 points in round 15.

Thistles coach Jake Terry said he was expecting a much closer game on Sunday. 

“We’ve watched each other enough the last couple of weeks to know who’s who and how they play so I think there’ll be some fairly good match-ups around the ground and we’ll look to play some hard, tough footy,” he said.

East Coast could add as many as five players to the side which knocked out St Pats last weekend as it chases a spot in next week’s preliminary final. 

Swans coach Ned Hyland said while the Thistles were “not to be taken lightly”, he was confident his side had the depth to cause an upset. 

“I reckon they’ll be pretty hungry after such a narrow loss but I think we’ve probably got the edge on them and I reckon we can better them,” Hyland said.