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Related: Weekend footy preview
Maiden Gully YCW coach Wayne Mitrovic is not hiding his players from the September spotlight.
While most coaches like to keep a lid on hype at this time of year, Mitrovic is the opposite.
After guiding the success-starved Eagles to their first finals series in seven years, Mitrovic is more than happy for his players to think about the fact they're one win away from a LVFNL grand final berth.
"I've embraced it all week and have repeatedly mentioned it to the players,'' Mitrovic said.
"We need to invite that pressure because it's exciting. It's what we play for. I asked the guys to go home and say out loud to themselves "we're one win away from playing in a grand final".
"Until you say it out loud the gravity of how far we've come mightn't set in. When you're down for so long.... it can be hard to get up for every game. Now we know that every game we play we can win. It's fantastic."
The Eagles' first chance at earning a grand final berth comes up in Saturday's second semi-final against minor premier Newbridge at Pyramid Hill.
Two weeks ago the Maroons handed the Eagles a 99-point thumping.
"We feel as though that performance was not a true reflection of what we can bring to the table on a week-to-week basis,'' Mitrovic said.
"We may get beaten on Saturday, but it won't be a margin like that."
Mitrovic said he'd learned plenty from the Maroons' imposing performance.
"They (Newbridge) were clearly the best team we played in the home and away season,'' Mitrovic said.
"The way they move the ball and the way they hunt the ball was very good.
"When they win the footy they run hard from the contest. They really hurt us in the ruck. They have quality midfielders and they were given first use of the footy which made it hard for our backline.
"We've got to get our hands on the ball first and be more competitive through the middle of the ground.
"Newbridge has high quality forwards, so we have to apply pressure in our forward line and midfield to give our backline the best chance to stop them."
Newbridge is fresh and close to full strength for the second semi-final, while the Eagles will be without key player Brayden Aitken.
"It's not ideal... you need players of his calibre out on the ground,'' Mitrovic said of Aitken.
"The doctor said he needs a week off, so we've decided to play it safe and give him the week off.”
Meanwhile, Pyramid Hill and Mitiamo will do battle in Sunday’s first semi-final at Marist College in Maiden Gully.
It’s the first time the clubs have met in a finals series since the 2015 first semi-final which Mitiamo won by 24 points. The Superoos have all the momentum having won their past four games, including a 13-goal thumping of Bears Lagoon-Serpentine in last week’s elimination final.
Pyramid Hill has lost three of its past four matches, but it does hold a 2-0 advantage over Mitiamo this year.