The Hawks face Deniliquin at the Cobram Showgrounds tomorrow and Sunday and will look to repeat their heroics of 2017/18 - where 173 from the Rhinos proved not nearly enough to stand in the way of a rampant Riley Gow (116 not out from 146).
Deniliquin went on to lose the decider last campaign as well against Cobram, something Barooga captain Sam Leigh knows will be playing on the minds of his opponents.
“That pressure would be building on them after losing two in a row,” Leigh said.
“We get along really well with the Deni boys, they’re a great bunch of blokes.
“We know they’ve lost a few grand finals now and we hope they breakthrough, but hopefully it’s not this year.
“It will be a great contest.
“Hopefully both sides can make a few more runs than the last few weeks, so we can make a great game of it, but it will be a hard, tough game no matter what.”
The Hawks knocked Cobram out last week after ripping through the Tigers with ball in hand before batting them into submission.
“It was a very good win and it’s great to be there (in the grand final) again,” Leigh said.
“Matt (Jaensch) ripped through the top order pretty early and set it up for us.
“They were about 3-30 at the first drinks break and then between him and Riley they took 4-0 straight after that.
“The biggest thing I said to the boys was taking their time in getting in, there was no rush and we just had to bat time and bat them out of the game.”
Leigh will look to opening batsmen Dan Ellis and Jamie Stanyer to set the tone for the rest of his troops on the last weekend of the season, while Justin Maley was in great touch when the two outfits last clashed.
“Dan Ellis has had a fantastic year as our wicket-keeper and opening batsman, he’s been in really good form,” Leigh said.
“Jamie has been hitting them really well as well, he’s just been getting himself out between 15 and 20.
“If those boys can get going up the top I think it can really set up the game for us.
“Jake Poole is one who I hope gets a chance to bowl. He’s a young fella who can really turn it both ways and I think it will be exciting to see him come on to bowl.
“We’ve had decent home crowds all year up on the balcony, we expect plenty to be there this weekend being close to town, and I hope we can get the win for them.”
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