THERE will be a sense of déjà vu among Cootmaundra Bulldogs fans on Sunday as the side faces off against the Wagga Kangaroos at Fisher Park in the first Group Nine elimination final.
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The two sides played each other at the same ground a fortnight ago with the Bulldogs recording a convincing 56-16 win against a depleted Wagga side.
While the Bulldogs faithful will be hoping recent history repeats itself, Cootamundra coach Mark Elia is wary of the Kangaroos line up which has been bolstered by a couple of big names.
“They have a lot of wind in their sails at the moment,” he said.
“We will take a bit of confidence from last time but we definitely won’t be underestimating them. They have said their lineup is the strongest it has been all season so we are expecting a tough game.”
Among the players taking the field for the Kangaroos on Sunday is high profile prop Hayden Davis who is flying back from New Zealand for the clash.
He will form part of what is an already formidable defence which is under the tutelage of Melbourne Storm player Ryan Hinchcliffe.
Having previously lost to the Kangaroos back in round six, the Bulldogs know all too well what their defenders are capable of.
Elia said the element of surprise is his side’s best weapon in attack.
“We created a lot of opportunities in the round six game that we couldn’t quite convert but I think we are a better team now,” he said.
“There are aspects of our game which make us hard to defend against. We are not as structured as other teams and our captain Aaron Byrne tends to adapt to what is happening on the field rather than follow any specific plan.”
Recently named in the Group Nine Team of the Year, Byrne has been an integral part of the Bulldogs success this year.
He said the side is doing everything possible to make sure they are ready come Sunday.
“We have changed things up a bit and added an extra training session,” he said.
“Mark has been taking us through a few different exercises so we are going in fairly confident of a good performance.”
The Fisher Park crowd could be a factor in the performance of the Bulldogs with a large turnout expected for the clash.
Elia said the venue could prove the difference if the game goes down to the wire.
“It definitely holds significance,” he said.
“I’d love to see a large crowd out there see us finish a job we started two weeks ago. We probably completed 25 per cent of it then. Now it is time to do the rest.”
