Canberra Raiders Cup League Tag: Grand Final Preview

The Canberra Raiders Cup League Tag Grand Final awaits this weekend as last year’s premiers, Woden Valley Rams, meet the raging Gungahlin Bulls at Seiffert Oval.

The match will be the first of the day at Seiffert Oval, with the two teams to battle it out at 9:15 am on Sunday.

The Rams defeated the Bulls 22-6 in the major semi-final two weeks ago to book themselves a ticket to the final, as the two teams clash again in search of the major premiership.

The Gungahlin Bulls will be out for revenge on the Woden Valley Rams, who knocked them out in the preliminary final last year and will have all the strike power necessary to knock them off.

The Rams look strong heading into this weekend, having scored a total of 580 points in the regular season and only conceding 64 across the 14 regular season games.

However, the Rams will have to be mindful of the Bulls, who handed them their only loss of the season this year.

Having defeated the Bulls in the major semi-final, they earned themselves a week off last weekend as they prepare themselves for the clash.

Bulls’ fullback Caitlin Turnbull sits atop the try scorers tally this season, racking up 20 tries, followed closely by Rams player Keesha Kapea.

The Bulls players are more than ready to take on the Rams, with the game meaning more than the match at hand.

“It will mean a lot to the club, especially the girls, they want to do it for Darren our coach, he’s been fantastic throughout the year,” Bulls player Matisse McNair said.

“We’ve got some great experience in our team with our girls playing in all different kinds of codes of sports. Working together as a team is the most important, if we all come together and gel, that’s what will get us across the line.”

With the reserve grade side being the other team from the Gungahlin Bulls competing in the final, seeing both teams lift the trophy would be a dream for McNair and the club.

“We have an amazing club culture at the Bulls, with all the teams coming together, training together, we do some fun club games together… so bringing it home together would just be the cherry on top,” McNair said.

As for the Rams, it’s all eyes on securing back-to-back titles with only 50 minutes separating themselves and the trophy.

"We set a goal at the start of this year to go back-to-back, and we’ve put in the effort since pre-season to achieve that goal so it would mean a lot to us and the club,” Rams’ captain Kelly Maher said.

“We are all getting around each other this week, making sure we spend heaps of time together and hopefully put in the effort [against the Bulls].”

As for the previous loss to the Bulls this season, Maher isn’t fazed by the potential upper hand the Bulls may have on them.

“Definitely not playing on our mind, there’s a lot of confidence in the playing group that we will go out there and get it done,” Maher said.