"There is absolutely nothing that can't be achieved on a football field as long as you've got commitment and belief."
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Meander Valley women's coach Scott Bellinger knows his players might be sick of him saying it but it seems they have truly bought into that message this season.
After only winning two games last year, the Sunettes will battle for a NTFAW division one grand final spot on Saturday.
They will face South Launceston at 10.20am in a second semi-final at Invermay Park.
They've yet to beat the Bulldogs but belief is high after their narrow loss to South Launceston in round 18.
The players also got a treat this week.
They received a surprise video message from AFLW star and Melbourne player Libby Birch on Thursday night after training.
Birch is no stranger to finals having won a premiership with the Western Bulldogs in 2018.
"She touched on the fact that it's a journey and how hard you have to work in the finals and how it's a team-orientated goal and that if you go out with that mindset anything can be achieved," Bellinger said.
The coach wanted to find something relevant for his group ahead of their finals campaign and reached out to Birch.
"She's really passionate and didn't pick up a football until she was 18," Bellinger said.
"That really resonated with me when I started to do my research because last year a large percentage of our girls had never touched the football.
"She was a late starter as a lot of girls are.
"Just to hear about how hard she worked and the way she goes about it, it lines up with the culture that we've tried to develop."
So where have the Sunettes come from this year?
Bellinger feels it's come down to the fact they've retained first-year players from last year.
"We've been able to create a culture where the girls wanted to be there regardless of whether we were getting towelled up by 80 points or whether we were there or thereabouts," he said.
"We never dropped our heads."
He said they remained committed to training and continued to chip away at their skills.
It wasn't long before their hard work was reflected in their results this year.
"It was maybe round three or four where everything just started to click," he said.
"All that hard work started to pay off. they were playing as a team and we weren't relying on key individuals."
The undermanned Sunettes took it up to the undefeated Bulldogs last weekend but they'll have to find something extra if they want to make it to the big dance.
Bellinger said forward entries would be crucial.
"We need to focus a bit more on our forward entries with regards to taking more time and being strategic with how we enter in rather than just banging it on the boot," he said.
"That's probably one thing that I took from last weekend's game.
"But the positives I took were that our second, third and fourth efforts were just absolutely off the charts."
The coach feels another part of the Sunettes' success this year has been the support network around the team.
They have two players that won't play finals due to season-ending injuries.
Bellinger said Jade Devlin broke bones in her foot earlier this year while Juanita Stevenson is recovering from a knee injury.
It's the support they've offered which has impressed the coach.
"It's not only those girls (with long-term injuries) but other girls that were involved with our club last year that aren't playing this year," he said.
"As a group they're constantly there on training nights when it's cold and wet supporting their teammates.
"They're attending all the functions and helping out where they can. And it's very rare as a coach to look over my right shoulder at a game and not see these girls sitting in the stands supporting us."
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