Grand Final Review – Men’s State League
It’s the game football fans have been waiting for all year.
After 18 gruelling rounds and weeks of thrilling finals football, two teams have emerged ready to do battle for the ultimate prize in football – the Championship crown of the Men’s State League competition.
Bankstown United vs Camden Tigers – 6pm Saturday 2nd August
It’s the game football fans have been waiting for all year.
After 18 gruelling rounds and weeks of thrilling finals football, two teams have emerged ready to do battle for the ultimate prize in football – the Championship crown.
Bankstown and Camden have been the two best teams all season and deserve the opportunity to take the field on Saturday.
Claudio Canosa’s side have enjoyed the week off, having booked their place in the Grand Final with a comprehensive 4-1 victory over Camden in the Major Semi Final.
Camden overcame a valiant Nepean side in last weekend’s Preliminary Final and Dean Bradley will hope his team can benefit from the momentum generated in that extra-time victory.
In three previous encounters between the two teams this season, Bankstown have won 2 and Camden have won 1. Worryingly for Camden, their 2 defeats against United have both been 4-1 thrashings, with the most recent defeat coming in the Major Semi Final two weeks ago.
On that night, Bankstown blew Camden off the park with scintillating attacking football. Shannon Hankin terrorised the Camden defence with adventurous attacking runs that opened up space for Jovan Miladinovic and Sean Robertson to exploit.
If Dean Bradley’s side are going to have any chance of winning this game, he will need to ensure they are well organised defensively to deal with the extensive attacking threat of Bankstown.
For Camden, Jayden Russell has formed a lethal partnership with Stephen Lloyd in recent weeks. Their combination of experience, finesse, power and pace has troubled all unfortunate enough to stand in their way.
Camden’s strength is undoubtedly their speed. They press with ferocious speed and counter attack at lightning pace. But on the wide, artificial surface of Valentine Sport Park, their players are required to cover more distance than on any other pitch in the league.
But with the motivation to win both the Club Championship and the Grand Final fuelling their legs and the roar of the orange-clad Camdenites driving their desire, Camden will surely explode out of the blocks when the whistle blows for kick-off.
Bankstown are looking to complete an historic double of their own. After claiming the Premiership in the regular season, Claudio Canosa’s side would surely love to see the Championship trophy dressed in emerald green and canary yellow at full-time.
Grand Finals are won in moments.
Moments of pure magic, moments of individual skill, moments shaped by a desire to change history forever.
The team that wins this year’s Men’s State League Grand Final will stand up in those moments.
They will seize them.
In the moments that count, will it be Bankstown or Camden who emerge victorious?
– By Ryan Latty
