GVL | Finals footy arrives with three blockbuster clashes

And boy is it exciting.

Three massive games headline the first week of finals, with Echuca and Mansfield, Euroa and Kyabram and Rochester and Mooroopna set to do battle.

As the old saying goes “anything can happen in finals”, so with three games to choose from there is certainly no excuse not to sink your teeth into the action this weekend.

Echuca v Mansfield

The headline game of the weekend, Echuca and Mansfield will meet at Seymour’s Kings Park on Saturday afternoon.

A qualifying final ― the game is sure to provide plenty of entertainment ― with the first against second clash having the potential to go either way.

Last weekend the Murray Bombers suffered their first defeat of the season, falling to Mooroopna, however, co-coach Simon Maddox said the side was nice and prepared for the Mansfield challenge.

“We’ll go to Seymour confident that our best footy is good enough,” Maddox told the Riverine Herald.

Echuca will be without a number of stars for the clash, with Kane Morris out through suspension and Sam Reid unlikely to play due to hamstring soreness.

“Whatever side we put on the park it’s always been a one troop down and one troop in scenario,” Maddox said.

“We’ve got Liam Tenace who rucks really well, we’ve brought in Lachlan Watson from the thirds and Leo O’Brien has been in good form.

“Kane’s our captain and we would love to have him out there, but we’ve won games without him.”

Like Echuca, Mansfield is excited about finals and coach Chad Owens said his side was pumped for the post-season action.

“We’re certainly confident going into the game, we finished second for a reason and there is no reason to be scared or nervous, we’ll just be looking to keep playing the way we’ve been playing,” Owens said.

“If it’s good enough it’s good enough and if it’s not it’s not.”

Owens said his side peaked at the right time of year, with player management leading it to the position it is in.

“We have everyone available for selection in all three grades, so we feel like we are in a great spot leading into this finals series,” he said.

Mansfield will have no key omissions for this game, with VFL talents Corey Rich and Dirk Koenen qualifying for the finals series, while Frazer Dale is expected to return.

Saturday’s qualifying final at Seymour will begin at 2.30pm, with the winner gaining the opportunity to secure a grand final place next week and the loser booking a game against either Rochester or Mooroopna.

Euroa v Kyabram

Tatura Park will be the stage for what is sure to be a close encounter on Saturday afternoon.

Euroa and Kyabram well and truly earned a finals position this season and the two sides will be aiming to secure a grand final berth.

A good week on the training track is sure to hold the Magpies in good stead for the occasion and coach Scott Rowan said his side was excited to play in finals after some time away.

“They’ve (Kyabram) probably got the most finals experience out of any of the teams,” Rowan said.

“They know what they’re doing when it comes to this time of the year, there’s certainly no easy matches in finals, so we’re expecting a big challenge and the boys are up for it I reckon.”

Rowan expected Euroa to welcome about five players back into the squad, with a team performance key to getting over Kyabram.

“I fully expect everyone to play their role and bring that excitement and intensity that you have to when you play finals footy,” he said.

“Everyone is excited, it’s another level up, but we’ve got the cattle on the park to take that next step, there’s a lot of experience there and lot of good footballers that are really wanting to set the tone and get stuck in.”

The league’s most dominant club come finals in recent years, Kyabram is sure to cause Euroa problems.

Bombers coach Paul Newman said his side was looking forward to the contest.

“Obviously it’s an enormous challenge for us, but we’ll be looking to put our best foot forward and control the things that we can control,” Newman said.

Sporting a side with no shortage of finals campaigners, Newman said he would call on his experienced core to set the tone for the Bombers.

“The reality is some stand up under finals heat and some don’t, and we have number of guys who are proven in that area,” he said

“But there’s also a large chunk of the team who are representing us for the first time, we’ll be looking to get the best out of them and that’s the beauty of the challenge in front of us.”

Newman said the Bombers would once again be without Kyle Mueller and Jack Sheldon, while Hayden Gemmill continues to recover from injury.

“They’ve (Euroa) had a solid year, they’re pretty even across ground and they’ve got size and weapons in all thirds of the ground,” he said.

“We’ve been able to match it with these teams for periods this year, but haven’t been able to put it together, so we’ll be looking to do that on Saturday.“

Saturday’s elimination final at Tatura Park will start at 2.30pm.

Rochester v Mooroopna

Two premiership underdogs will meet at Echuca on Sunday, with Rochester taking on Mooroopna at Victoria Park.

Coming off a solid end to the season, the Tigers will be confident in their ability to get over the line, however, with Mooroopna still riding high off handing Echuca its first defeat of the year, it is sure to be hard to beat.

Speaking ahead of the clash, Rochester coach Steven Stroobants said the Tigers were tracking well.

“We played some good footy last weekend in some patches,” Stroobants said.

“We’ll go in pretty confident that if we play the way we know we can we’ll bring the pressure through the midfield, play the game in our forward half and we’ll be able to do some damage.

"It will just be a case of nullifying Mooroopna’s forwards and hopefully going from there."

A side full to the brim with talent, Rochester will be missing ex-AFL talent Joe Atley due to ineligibility, however, Chris Jansen and James McPhee will put their hands up for selection.

For Mooroopna, coach John Lamont was wary of the task at hand, acknowledging it will be a challenge to overcome a talented Rochester team.

“We got away to a flyer when we played them last time and it was probably the only time we’ve done it,” Lamont said.

“But they came back pretty hard and it was very even after that and I think they might have even won the second half, so again we’re not under any illusions.”

Lamont said the teams had changed a fair bit since their round 12 encounter, with plenty of ins and outs on both sides of the coin.

“If you look at the player balance sheet they’ve probably got their noses in front,” he said.

“We will be expecting a hard and tough game , they’ve got a quality midfield and an interesting mix in their forward line and capable defenders.

“We won’t be taking them lightly.”

Sunday’s do-or-die game at Echuca’s Victoria Park will begin at 2.30pm.