Super League Finals Series Preview

Premiers Bonnyrigg White Eagles will have a weekend to rest up before they enter the finals affray ? for the rest, it?s back to the drawing board for season 2009.
Granville to host Rockdale in Saturday night knockout
Granville Rage has a task on their hands in defeating Rockdale City Suns in the sudden death preliminary final with a time and venue TBA. A solid finish from Granville sealed their top-five spot weeks ago, while Rockdale have run into the playoffs on the back of some impressive, critical results.
On paper, the two sides are very evenly matched. In three years of Super League clashes, the Suns and Rage share two wins apiece, with a thrilling 2-2 draw at Garside last year (interestingly, it?s the only encounter where both teams scored). This year, Rockdale won 2-0 at Ilinden only for Granville to return the favour with a 1-0 win on home turf.
Ironically, it was the one-goal loss to the Rage in round 17 that sparked the Suns? terrific run home, with coach Michael Grbevski commenting that he refused to give up on a finals berth. ?I?ll never give up. The players knew it was a big week for us. As it?s turned out the other teams aren?t too far away, and it?s just a matter of going out there and getting the points we need,? he said at the time.
Now that they?re in the post-season rumble, Grbevski, and Rockdale, are brimming with confidence. ?We?ll beat Granville, Bonnyrigg were lucky to get away with two tight wins against us, and Parramatta and Liverpool were also both quite lucky to beat us, so we?re not afraid of any teams going into the finals ? they should be worried about us,? he said after the Suns secured their finals spot on the weekend.
?We?ve probably over-achieved in getting to where we are. We lost players early in the season and started off on the back foot, so everything we have achieved has been pure enjoyment. On our day, we?ll be hard to beat. We?re not worried about anyone. We?ve not been outplayed all year, and now everyone starts from scratch. We believe in ourselves and the club has worked together to get the results.?
Rockdale face a formidable opponent in Granville, who have bounced back to form this year and put together a run of consistency in the second half of the season to return to finals football. Coach Lee Sterrey was very proud of his players? achievements, particularly in lieu of some snide remarks about his team?s age and mobility. He said the job wasn?t finished yet.
?I?ve heard the talk from other clubs about us being an older type team, that we?re slow, this, that and the other. We?re strong in certain areas, and we?ll see how the star teams to go in the finals,? he said. ?I?m sure the club would be very happy with us finishing in fourth place, we?ve probably got the cheapest team in the finals.?
?When you?re in a sudden death playoff, players react differently, and I?m quietly confident with what we?ve got in the shed. For what Bonnyrigg spent on their team budget this year, they should be the team to chase, but from 2-5, there?s no team that scares me. The only problem is we can?t afford any injuries.?
Sterrey would also realise he has the second lowest number of scorers out of any Super League outfit in 2008, with nine players finding the back of the net this season. He will want a few of them to be on the mark this weekend.
Liverpool face the might of Parramatta
PCYC Parramatta Eagles won?t want to rely on history when they meet Bossy Liverpool at Melita Stadium on Sunday (3pm kick-off). The winner goes on to play Bonnyrigg in the major semi-final, while the loser enters sudden death. Statistically, it?s hard to look past Parramatta, who has won all four Super League encounters with Liverpool. In fact, Bossy is yet to score a goal against the Eagles, losing 3-0, 1-0, 3-0 and 2-0 over two years.
Liverpool might feel slightly hard done by after star midfielder and 2008 Super League golden boot winner Alex Canak was sent off early in their round nine, 3-0 loss at Moorebank, while it took an injury time goal for Parramatta to close out a 2-0 victory at Melita just a fortnight ago. Bossy coach Mile Todorovski admitted this weekend?s mountain loomed high, but he held high praise for the club?s turnaround from last year.
?We were rebuilding the team this year, so to finish third and make the finals was quite an good effort,? he said. ?I don?t have the magic formula, it?s hard work, but if you get good players in the right spots, you can achieve something.?
?You need the club behind you to do well. Fortunately, people work very hard at Bossy ? I?m talking about the committee, and everyone behind the scenes. I have some plans to do well, and we have reached a good point. I am coach, I do my job the best I can, but it takes everybody to do their job for a club to do well. It has been a maximum effort to get this far.?
While itching to have another crack at Bonnyrigg, Parramatta coach Jason Falzon is smart enough to not underestimate any team at this level. ?Our focus is on Liverpool, whatever comes our way after that we?ll deal with it then. The ball could go either way, Bossy will be hard to beat, but we?re at full strength. We?ll be ready and we?re also strong at home.?
The Eagles mentor has certainly grown in stature this year, perhaps a by-product of his pre-season trip to the USA with the club?s senior coaching staff. Falzon and co joined 8000 coaches at the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) convention, where they listened to world class guest speakers such as Gerard Houllier and Steve McClaren. The experience might prove invaluable.
What the other coaches said
White Eagles coach Blagoja Kulevski played down his team?s dominance and reminded everyone that the finals belong to the most consistent teams of any competition. ?I believe the home ground advantage will be the only difference between the two teams [Bonnyrigg and Parramatta]. Liverpool is a very strong, physical team, and can be a dark horse; Granville are a good side this year; and Rockdale is always a very strong club, and has a lot of confidence at the moment.?
St George mastermind, John Calleja refused to put his house on juggernauts Bonnyrigg. ?I don?t think they?re home and hosed just yet. It will be difficult to win from fourth or fifth spot, but I wouldn?t be surprised if Bonnyrigg gets knocked off by one of the other teams.?
Calleja was looking forward to another tilt next season. ?Our aims were higher than what we finished, so we probably underachieved. I think there is a good platform to build on for next year; it now depends on what players the club can keep. The team does need to be strengthened in a few key roles.?
Mount Druitt coach Phil Pavela perhaps dropped the biggest bombshell by tipping Rockdale as an unlikely grand final winner. ?It will be difficult to beat Bonnyrigg, who are the standout favourites, but Rockdale could be a dark horse ? I was really impressed by them.?
Pavela has done a wonderful job with a limited Rangers budget, as he was readily anticipating season 2009. ?I?ll be there next year, and we?re looking to see what players to keep and which new ones we will be looking for. The under-20s had a good season this year, so hopefully we can promote a few players from inside the club.?
The man who built Central Coast into a Super League contender, John McLafferty, thought the finals race was well and truly open. But he measured success differently to most of his rivals. ?I said at the start of the season that if we can get two players into the national league then we?ve done our job. In that regard, I think it was a very successful season for us, more successful than the points could ever be.?
Lightning talents Brady Smith and Nathan Mosley have both geared up for the [A League] Mariners, and Eric Koelma is also being looked at. Matt Simons came through the Central Coast system last year, and Brad Porter played against Sydney FC last weekend, vindicating the Lightning development program, McLafferty said.
-By Daniel De Nardi