PERFECTION is only a win away for reigning premier Harrow-Balmoral.
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The team will face Natimuk United at Horsham City Oval on Saturday and will look for its 20th straight win.
The Roos have been peerless in 2014, each game en route to a second straight grand final appearance.
Remarkably they have only been seriously challenged once all year.
Laharum came within a goal of beating the team in round six, but no other side has gotten within single digits.
In a competition as even as the district league has been this year, the Roos’ dominance stands out even further.
None of this will deter challenger Natimuk United on Saturday.
The Ewes have been consistently the second-best side during the season and are capable of mixing it with Harrow-Balmoral at their best.
Their three losses to the Roos this year have had almost exactly the same scoreline – Harrow-Balmoral scored 44 goals in each game and the Ewes scored 29, 24 and 29 again.
Despite this, co-coach Cheryl Sudholz said the team made big inroads against the Roos in their second semi-final meeting two weeks ago.
“Even though the scoreboard didn’t show it in the end, that was a very close game at times and it has given us confidence,” she said.
“We need to be able to get consistent defensive pressure on them and slow them down through the middle of the court.
“We achieved that at times two weeks ago but we need to be able to do it successfully for a whole game.”
Both team’s defences have been superb this season.
Harrow-Balmoral’s defence is anchored by coach and newly-crowned two-time league best and fairest Ebonie Salter.
Jo Taylor, equal runner-up in the best and fairest, is vitally important for the Ewes.
It is no coincidence the best players on either side are defenders.
Salter said the grand final would be won by consistent defensive pressure.
“We need to be consistent throughout the court, because if we focus on individual match-ups they’ll start to pick us apart,” she said.
“They had definitely done their homework on us in the semi-final and I’d expect them to improve even more in this game.”
