Longford's 11 men are all that stands in the way of Hadspen claiming a fourth consecutive TCL premiership on Saturday.
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The Tigers travel to the Chieftains' home deck for the showdown, after putting in one of their most complete performances against Trevallyn to deny them a second straight preliminary final win.
After a challenging two-month period, skipper Richard Howe is eager for another crack at Hadspen.
"We see Hadspen as the yardstick of the competition," he said.
"They've beaten us three times this year and we've probably had a couple of chances that we've put down and missed out on certain opportunities but you go into a grand final at the end of the day at nil-all and we've only got to beat them once at the end of the year.
"Hopefully on the day we come out, we play our best cricket that we can and we can come out on top but at the same time, we respect that they've been the best in the competition for a couple of years now."
Two of Hadspen's recent grand final wins came over Longford, the other against Trevallyn last year, with Howe aware of how good their top-order can be.
Featuring names like former Westbury Shamrocks teammate Dane Anderson, John LeFevre and captain-coach Liam Reynolds, it presents a rather intimidating challenge.
"Any team that has two or three players that can essentially win a game off their own bat or with the ball ... is going to benefit from that," Howe said.
"They've also got some guys through the middle and lower-order that stick to task pretty well, they are a well-drilled team and if we get 200, they are going to back themselves in to get it."
Hadspen's Johnathan Marsden echoed Howe's comments about his side's middle order, backing them to continue their strong year - only losing one game to ACL.
"We've had a really good season so far, so it would be great to replicate that in the grand final," Marsden said.
"We've got great depth in our list at the moment, so hopefully we can all play a role and get the job done."
He also acknowledged the experience of Longford's side, who last won the premier league flag in 2017-18.
"Obviously they've got some great names on their list and they've got a lot of history in the club that is going to hold them in good stead, especially for this week," Marsden said.
"They've got some mature players as well, some great older names."
A premiership win would be the first for the young batter, who joined the Chieftains halfway through the season.
"I've loved every moment of it, I missed the first five games but since then, I've really enjoyed it."
Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
