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"YOU can't buy the hunger that Eaglehawk had today... and that's what we'll have next year."
They were the words of a bitterly disappointed Strathfieldsaye coach Troy Coates in the QEO's swimming pool changerooms a year ago after his Storm had just been beaten by Eaglehawk by 49 points in the BFNL grand final.
That Eaglehawk hunger Coates spoke of was driven by the Hawks having lost the previous year's grand final in 2017 to the Storm.
The Hawks were hellbent on ensuring they wouldn't again endure the despair that comes with grand final defeat two years in a row.
And it's that same hunger that has fueled Strathfieldsaye during an imposing 2019 that on Saturday culminates in another grand final appearance - the Storm's sixth in the past seven years.
The rampaging Storm head into Saturday's third-consecutive grand final showdown against Eaglehawk with an 18-1 record supported by a monster percentage of 314.
To give that some perspective, since 1950 the previous highest season-ending percentage in the BFNL had been the undefeated Golden Square's 266.4 in 2011 when the Bulldogs averaged a for of 143 and against of 54.
This year's Storm outfit is averaging 145 points for and just 46 points against and finished two games clear on top of the ladder, with their only loss an 18-point defeat to the Hawks in round 10.
"The dynamic of our side has changed a lot to last year. We've got a lot more speed in our side, not as much height, and players who are all willing to play their role," Coates said this week.
"We've made a few little tweaks to our brand of footy and I think we're much better prepared to what we were last year."
14 Storm players will take to the QEO on Saturday driven by the desire to atone for last year's grand final loss - Coates, Kellan Smith, Shannon Geary, Lachlan Ratcliffe, Sam Heavyside, skipper Kallen Geary, Hugh Robertson, Lachlan Wallace, Fergus Payne, Bryce Curnow, Josh Formosa, Jake Moorhead, Ben Lester and Hunter Lawrence.
As well as the the motivation of 12 months ago, one obvious advantage the Storm's grand final side has on Saturday compared to last year is the availability of star forward Lachlan Sharp.
A round 18 broken leg last year cruelly ended Sharp's season, but he heads into Saturday having booted 131 goals for the year.
Sharp is one of three Storm triple premiership players on Saturday, along with Smith and Shannon Geary, who have the chance to add a 2019 flag alongside their 2014, 2015 and 2017 triumphs.
We've made a few little tweaks to our brand of footy and I think we're much better prepared to what we were last year.
- Troy Coates - Strathfieldsaye coach
"It's the old saying that it takes losing a grand final to really appreciate the ones you've won and right from the start of the pre-season we had blokes ready to go straight away," Sharp said.
"It's the effort over the course of the year with all our training, our camps and obviously the games to get to this point and definitely, there's a lot of hunger there after the loss last year and the boys are ready and raring."
As well as Sharp, young gun Bailey Henderson is another Storm player sidelined for the grand final 12 months ago (shoulder) who is part of Saturday's team.
Then there's the journey of Vinnie Flood, who having been a member of the Storm's maiden flag in 2014 didn't play senior football again until June of this year following a pair of knee reconstructions coupled with several soft tissue injuries.
The announcement on the Thursday night before Flood's senior return earlier this year was met with an eruption of raucous cheers among the Storm players and supporters.
If Flood is called up to the QEO grandstand sometime around 5pm on Saturday as a premiership player, he will do so as one of the grand final's feelgood stories given all he's overcome.
Unlike the previous two grand finals against Eaglehawk in 2017 and 2018 when they lost the second semi-final to the Hawks and then had to take the preliminary final route, this time the Storm enter Saturday off the back of a week off.
Any question marks that may have existed externally around the Storm's lack of competitive matches - their last five home and away games were against the five bottom sides for wins by 171, 185, 217, 89 and 197 points - and whether they would be finals-hardened were vehemently answered in the second semi against the Hawks.
They kicked 6.3 to 0.1 in the first quarter against the Hawks two weeks ago on the way to a comprehensive 72-point victory - a result that coupled with their home and away season of dominance has Strathfieldsaye a red-hot $1.08 favourite and Eaglehawk $7.50 rank outsiders on Saturday according to Sportsbet.
But Coates is familiar enough with Eaglehawk - he himself is a former Hawk - to know what the Storm can expect from the Borough on Saturday.
"We've got full respect for Eaglehawk... we know better than anyone else in the competition that when they come to play they are a very good side," Coates said.
"We found that out in the finals series last year when they stitched us up twice, so we're not getting ahead of ourselves, that's for sure.
"They have a similar list to last year and have recruited some quality players with Brodie Filo, Clayton Holmes and Ryan Gillingham and so on... we know the way we want to play and are happy with our form, but we have full respect for Eaglehawk and the way they play."
Adding an extra dynamic to Saturday's grand final is the history between the two coaches, with Coates and his Eaglehawk counterpart Travis Matheson having co-coached back-to-back flags at Kerang in 2015 and 2016.
"We haven't spoken a lot throughout the past few weeks. I've played a lot of footy and coached with Trav and know that he's a great operator," Coates said.
"I'm looking forward to coaching against him on Saturday and may the best team win."
STRATHFIELDSAYE GRAND FINAL TEAM:
BACKS:
13 - JACK NEYLON
Games: 17 Goals: 0
11 - BEN LESTER
Games: 13 Goals: 0
30 - FERGUS PAYNE
Games: 19 Goals: 20
............................................
HALF-BACKS:
9 - HARRY CONWAY
Games: 11 Goals: 2
42 - BRYCE CURNOW
Games: 19 Goals: 30
12 - SHANNON GEARY
Games: 18 Goals: 5
............................................
CENTRES:
3 - TROY COATES
Games: 16 Goals: 16
14 - KALLEN GEARY (C)
Games: 16 Goals: 12
27 - LACHLAN GILL
Games: 17 Goals: 13
............................................
HALF-FORWARDS:
15 - VINNIE FLOOD
Games: 8 Goals: 0
19 - HUGH ROBERTSON
Games: 16 Goals: 26
5 - BAILEY HENDERSON
Games: 11 Goals: 16
............................................
FORWARDS:
23 - JOSH FORMOSA
Games: 19 Goals: 28
8 - LACHLAN SHARP
Games: 18 Goals: 131
37 - KELLAN SMITH
Games: 19 Goals: 5
............................................
FOLLOWERS:
20 - LACHLAN RATCLIFFE
Games: 14 Goals: 3
10 - JAKE MOORHEAD
Games: 11 Goals: 4
7 - SAM HEAVYSIDE
Games: 17 Goals: 13
............................................
INTERCHANGE:
4 - HUNTER LAWRENCE
Games: 18 Goals: 10
17 - CALEB SHEAHAN
Games: 17 Goals: 13
2 - LACHLAN WALLACE
Games: 15 Goals: 11
32 WILLIAM WALLACE
Games: 3 Goals: 1
............................................
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