The Tuggeranong Bushrangers and the Goulburn Workers Bulldogs will take to the field for their Preliminary Final bout this Sunday at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval.
The two teams will battle it out for the final spot in the Grand Final where they will take on the Minor Premiers, the Queanbeyan Blues.
The Bushrangers will be hoping to bounce back after last week’s 32-18 loss to the Blues in the major semi-final, being their third loss in a row.
The Bushrangers have the upper hand heading into this weekend’s game, having defeated the Bulldogs on both occasions this season, defeating them 24-18 and 24-20 respectively.
Bushrangers coach Jarrad Teka said despite last weekend’s loss, he’s very happy with the way his team played throughout the match.
“There were a few sore bodies at training, it was a really physical game,” said Teka. “It’s all about building, and we built nicely… it’s a tough loss… but I’m very happy with that game.”
Teka said he is wary of the Bulldogs attack, but knows his young players are up for the tough challenge ahead.
“They’ve got a great spine with the Cornish brothers” said Teka. “We’re going to have to be very smart too but we’re up for it and as long as we get our fair share of possession we’ll be right.”
The Bulldogs will be raring to go after dispatching the Queanbeyan Kangaroos 42-12 in last week’s minor semi-final.
The show was run by the Cornish brothers, with Mitch scoring the opening try and brothers Nic and Tyler both setting up a try each.
Coach Adam Kyle couldn’t have been more impressed with how his side performed to get the victory in the minor semi-final.
“We just played Goulburn football; fast and punched hard through the line and scored some really good tries,” said Kyle. “I was more impressed with that first 40 minutes than the rest of our season so far.”
Kyle knows that while his team have dominated the past few weeks, it’ll be a tough, but important, challenge that his team will be facing.
“[Bushrangers] are dangerous across the park,” said Kyle. “It’s important that we turn up ready to play this weekend, and we know Tuggeranong will be desperate to try and get that win as well.”
Tuggeranong will be aiming to reach their second consecutive grand final, while Goulburn will be looking to make their first appearance since 2015.
CLICK HERE to watch the live stream at 3pm Sunday, September 1
