WANGARATTA Rovers reserves coach Darcy Booth admitted his team's second loss for the year in the qualifying final to Yarrawonga may not be a bad thing ahead of Sunday's grand final.
The Hawks had lost only one game (round 13 to Yarrawonga) up until they met the Pigeons two weeks ago at John Foord Oval, going down 8.9 (57) to 9.9 (63).
Wangaratta overs earnt themselves a second chance by finishing on top of the ladder and went on to beat Wodonga by 16–points in Sunday's preliminary final to grab a spot in the final at Lavington Sportsground.
"I don't think that loss was necessarily a bad thing but it was a good opportunity for us to work on some areas of our game," Booth said.
"Having the first week of finals off wasn't ideal because you probably want to keep the momentum you have going.
"I think now that we've played the last couple of weeks that'll have us primed to give a good account this weekend."
The two grand finalists have had some ripping encounters this year with their round four clash seeing Rovers win by 10, followed by their round 13 match–up where Yarrawonga were 13 point victors.
"I don't think we learned anything we didn't know in the final against them," Booth said.
"I think the result was a lot to do with our lack of composure and that's something we've since worked on.
"We're confident that our best footy is more than good enough to beat them but we've got to show them respect because they've shown that they can knock us off.
"As long as we stick to our structures I think we'll be okay."
Wangaratta Rovers have plenty of experienced campaigners in their side with the likes of Tyson Hartwig, Ben Kneebone and Luke Peters in the side.
The Hawks will lose Tristan Lenaz and Mackenzie Bristow through over qualification in the senior side, bringing Noah Amery and Ky Williamson back who both played in last weekend's senior preliminary final loss.
"Tyson Hartwig has been invaluable to us this season," Booth said.
"He wasn't sure he'd play this season but we got him back for the back half of the year and he's really wanted to be a part of what we're building since.
"And then guys like Ben Kneebone, Luke Peters and Sean O'Keefe all have so much experience and knowledge of the game that will be so important on Sunday.
"We've got some younger guys in the side so their experience will be priceless."
It's set to be a different build up for all Ovens and Murray grand finalists this weekend with the AFL grand final played the day prior.
Booth, a keen Geelong supporter, said it'll be an emotionally taxing weekend.
"I actually had tickets to the grand final but decided to give that ticket up because I think it's important that the whole team sticks together on Saturday," Booth said.
"We'll all watch it together in a pretty low key setting with some waters.
"Hopefully it's a winning double for me this weekend."
