{"id":111096,"date":"2022-07-01T16:18:08","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T06:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/?p=111096"},"modified":"2022-07-01T16:18:10","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T06:18:10","slug":"underdog-saints-certainly-not-overawed-by-the-occasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/afl\/2022\/07\/01\/underdog-saints-certainly-not-overawed-by-the-occasion\/","title":{"rendered":"Underdog Saints certainly not overawed by the occasion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WHEN it comes to this VFLW season, the Southern Saints<\/a> have been one of those sides you just cannot really underestimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They may have ultimately finished fifth on the ladder this season, but three big wins in a row against at times much more highly fancied opponents has seen them make their very first VFLW Grand Final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southern Saints\u2019 coach Dale Robinson<\/em><\/strong> certainly believes her charges have taken confidence from the last few weeks and the fact they have taken so many huge scalps in a row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve really hit some form at the right time of year and I think the connection the group has, and the will to play for each other and they\u2019re not just out there for themselves has been a really big impact and something that we\u2019ve really seen a change in in the last couple of weeks and it\u2019s been there all year in patches and it\u2019s probably just really come together at the right time of the year,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only do Robinson and the Saints take confidence from the past few weeks, but from the fact that they have been one of the most competitive sides against the competition benchmark Bombers in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah we do (take confidence),” she said. “And I think both of us play a really good brand of football. “I think we both play very similar brands of football as well and it\u2019s knowing that we can match that and hopefully the team that turns up the best from a mindset perspective on the day come out at the end with the win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite not getting the week off like the Bombers, there was no rest for Robinson, who was already into preparation mode a mere 24 hours after that epic Preliminary Final win. She said she was \u201ckeeping things pretty simple and knowing that the girls know what we need to do and get the bodies through, getting good recovery in and getting prepared for the weekend\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much like the Bombers, the Saints have kept a pretty settled line up all season, not relying on many AFLW stars throughout the season. Robinson definitely thinks it is a huge positive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh it\u2019s helped massively. Brendan [Major, coach of Essendon] and I spoke before [at the Grand Final media day], so we\u2019re probably two of the sides that have really kept our VFL group quite compact all year, and you know we\u2019ve had some of our AFLW girls come through, but it\u2019s really around those girls that needed that bit of time,” Robinson said. They seamlessly come into the group, the group accept them really well but the last few weeks and with all the changes with AFLW and that we\u2019ve just been able to get back to our core VFL group and that\u2019s what I\u2019ve been about, that ensuring at that level we\u2019re building a VFL side that\u2019s complimented by our AFLW program but never reliant on it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite last playing the Bombers about a month ago, Robinson was not worried back then about playing any so called \u201cace cards\u201d with the prospect of the two sides potentially meeting again in finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou go into every game wanting to win it,”Robinson said. It\u2019s about putting the right foot forward, it\u2019s about looking at the things we can improve on, looking at the things that work really well and strengthening those, and they\u2019re the things that we\u2019ve taken away from that game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked how she is going to counter the dominance of the Essendon forwardline, Robinson had a pretty straightforward answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s full team pressure, so that\u2019s not just relying on my defenders,” she said. “It\u2019s making sure that we\u2019re getting pressure all across the ground that\u2019s making the difficult entries so they\u2019re not getting silver service essentially because they have been a great forward line, they\u2019ve scored a lot of goals this year, so it\u2019s really about making sure there\u2019s pressure all up the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will the Saints continue their monumental run of picking off much more fancied opponents and claim their very first VFLW title? Only 48 odd hours to go until we find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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