Hillwood's Zac Oldenhof, Rocherlea's Luke Richards on NTFA grand final

Hillwood captain Zac Oldenhof and Rocherlea skipper Luke Richards know how fortunate they are to have made it to Saturday's grand final at UTAS Stadium.

It was clear former TSL players added to the competition's quality.

Hillwood brought in Jacob Boyd and Jack Tuthill from Launceston and the Tigers welcomed Jake Smith.

All three played in the Blues' historic three-peat premiership victory last year.

South Launceston's Jay Blackberry and Brendan Taylor and Bracknell's Josh Woolley were among the numerous others who played in that TSL flag according to PlayHQ.

"There was at least five or six clubs this year that could have contended," Richards said.

"Obviously, it's just making the comp stronger and anyone could have won it. So everyone just had to play well on their day and if you didn't, obviously, you're not playing on (grand final day)."

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Oldenhof shared his thoughts on this year's footy standard.

"We've got a couple of those (former TSL) players in our side now," he said.

"The comp is so even, with the top five, anyone could have won it and anyone in the comp could beat anyone on their day.

"So it's just nice having that back because I don't think we probably had that the last five or so years."

This year's top-five also featured South Launceston, Longford and Bracknell.

In a sign of how close the teams have been, in the knock-out games, 35 points has been the biggest margin with Rocherlea defeating South last weekend.

Richards feels the first quarter will be crucial in the decider.

"It all just comes down to that first 15 minutes," he said.

"If you can settle early, then that can set your game up."

Meanwhile, Hillwood have made a lot of their round 17 home victory against Longford.

It was pivotal in terms of securing top spot and earning the week off before the semi-finals.

Oldenhof spoke of what it meant to the group.

"Before that, we probably hadn't beaten anyone up the top of the ladder since the first lot of games - we lost to Rocherlea and South," he said.

"We really needed to win that one just to get a bit of momentum back. Also top spot was up for grabs as well. So that fired the boys and it was a good win."

Richards, who has been captain since 2018, said he had won premierships with the Tigers in 2013 and 2016.

Oldenhof, who said he switched from Launceston Blues, played in the Sharks' 2019 premiership in his first year at the club.

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