IT is a new dawn for Brett Gourley and many of his North Melbourne troops, with the team set to embark on its first VFLW Grand Final this weekend.

Gourley said that it was “really exciting” to have made it to this stage of the season.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said.

“It’s a long season for us and we’re just super grateful that we can be there and looking forward to the game next weekend.”

He agreed that making it was extra special because 2024 was the first year the club had won a final, let alone made the decider.

“It’s my first season being involved with the program so for me, we just had a really strong focus on creating the best possible program we could coming in and we’re really fortunate to be in this position and we’ve worked really hard to be here. So yeah, definitely special,” he said.

Despite the side’s newness to this stage of this season, Gourley does have some players with plenty of deep finals experience so will look to them to lead the team this week.

“I think having that sort of experience and we’ve lent on them this week, and they’ll share their experiences with the rest of the group, and obviously with Renee [Tierney] and Alana [Barba] both having wins at this level,” he said.

“We’ve got a few other girls from Collingwood as well that have come across, and obviously missed out last year, so I’m sure they’ll be looking to avenge that a little bit this year as well.”

Many of those players in question are new to the side this year, and Gourley noted how important the likes of Nyakoat Dojiok, Alana Barba and others have been to the side this season.

“All of them have been outstanding,” he said.

“Obviously with ‘Barbs’ and Renee [Tierney] in particular who have come in from AFLW level, brought a lot of experience with them and Nyakoat obviously is an outstanding player as well. She’s got a wealth of experience and we’re really fortunate to have them.

‘Mads’ [Di Cosmo] as well, coming across from Carlton. We’re really fortunate to acquire her as well. She’s just been a contested bull for us in the midfield, so really fortunate to have all of them on board with us this year.”

Despite the magnitude of the week and having the added bonus of the week off, Gourley said that his side “tried to keep it as normal as possible”, training on Sunday morning with a hitout down at Arden Street.

It has not been the most straightforward of seasons for North Melbourne, but Gourley noted his group’s resilience having sat second-bottom on the ladder at 3-5 after eight rounds.

“We recorded our line in the sand meeting and we sort of sat down and focused on some key areas that we needed to improve,” Gourley said.

“We were really open and honest about the areas that we needed to get better in and some of the areas that we were doing really well, and we just analysed and studied really hard what we needed to do to get better. We knew that if we continued to focus on those things then we could turn the tables and be in the position that we are.”

Looking ahead to this weekend, Gourley said that as much as the Roos will target the midfield battle – which is what saw them get over the line against Williamstown to make the decider – it will not be their only area of focus heading into the Grand Final.

“I think each week we try and win the midfield battle, I think it’s a really key component,” he said. “If you can get the ball moving in your direction early, it definitely helps with a bit of scoreboard pressure.

“So, we’ll have a strong focus on the midfield, but we’re well aware that the Dogs have got classy players all over the field. So yeah we’ll definitely look at the contest work, but we’ll be looking at other areas as well.”