For the third year in a row, Echuca will take on Shepparton Swans in the grand final to determine who gets the chocolates.
The boys in green will have every reason to think they are a shoo-in for the flag in 2024, having topped the Bloods in all three of their contests this year.
If they were to win on Sunday, Echuca’s thirds would have won the flag in the last five seasons of the competition: 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023, as the 2020 and 2021 seasons were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This explains the dominance of the two grades above them, reserves and seniors, as most players would have won at least one flag as part of the under-18s.
A young showstopper and future AFL prospect, Cody Walker, will feature for the side, and he is expected to impact the game in the middle significantly.
Assistant coach Andrew Thompson said that plenty of emotions are swirling for his side in the lead-up but that the boys know what they need to do to get the job done.
“There’s a mixture of excitement, nervousness and hope; the boys know that they won’t be gifted a grand final, and they’ll have to work very hard to win one,” he said.
“They’ve performed well all year and now just need to put their practice and procedures in place to try and get the result they want.”
Thompson said that Echuca had a few good contests with Shepparton Swans, including one a couple of weeks ago, where they got a sense of what it would take to beat them.
He also emphasised that the job is far from over for the boys in green, but they are confident there will be a fifth flag in a row.
“We’ve had excellent preparation; we played the Swans a couple of weeks ago, which was a good gauge for the grand final; they’ll know just as much about us as we do them,” he said.
“There’s no doubt we had a battle with them, and we are conscious that they are a good running side, but we are confident in how we play.
“We know we have a lot of work to do, but we haven’t been happier with our preparation thus far.
“We are confident without being cocky; they boys understand that grand finals aren’t given, and all the boys are willing to work hard to get over the line.”
The under-18s grand final will be held at Deakin Reserve on Sunday, September 22. First bounce is scheduled for 9.30am.
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