A SEASON of Woodbridge Cup League Tag action comes to a crescendo this Sunday, as the Cargo Heelers and the Manildra Rhinos face off for the competition’s top prize.
While Cargo are undefeated on the season, the win/ loss column doesn’t tell the whole story, according to captain Ebony Madden.
“We haven’t been going out there and smashing people,” she said. “Yeah, we’ve got an undefeated season, but we’ve done it tough.
“We’ve won two or three games by two points or four points.
“I think it will work in our favour this weekend, just knowing that we don’t give up.”
Sunday’s game against Cowra was an example of that, pushed into extra time, it was the second occurrence of this final series where Cargo needed more minutes to get the job done.
Madden said winning in the face of adversity built character in the team.
“It’s good to know that we’ve now got through two pretty tough games,” she said.
“Our first semi went into extra time as well. So, it feels good to know that when it gets tough, we don’t give up.”
Manildra coach Mel Gibson was quick to pay tribute to the Heelers record and effort this year.
“I always and honestly thought if we ever made it to the grand final, we would be playing Cargo,” she said.
“They’re obviously the strongest team in our comp this season. And congrats to Cargo and the girls for that because that’s well deserved, that’s something to not to be sneezed at.
“They work hard and they deserve their recognition. I know a lot of people don’t like winners all the time, but clubs work hard behind the scenes to get where they are, and I think everyone’s got to be recognised when they’re the strongest team for the season.
“My girls will be fine. We’ll just go in with our attitude, positivity, we’ll train hard this week and they know what they’ve got to bring on Sunday, and they’re ready for it.”
The Rhinos put Eugrowa out of the finals 24 to 0 last Saturday, and for Gibson, the win a chance to acknowledge her team’s journey this year.
“The girls have got confidence,” she said.
“A lot of them have probably been playing together for five, six, seven years now, and we’ve had five or six new members join us this season, which has been unreal for the club.
“The win on Saturday was well deserved for the girls. They went out there with some confidence. They have got a really good attitude towards the game this season, and they’ve been focused all season.”
When it comes to this Sunday’s match up in Cowra for the grand prize, Gibson said her side’s preparation would be unchanged.
“We’ll just do our normal thing,” she said. “We’ll train Tuesday and Friday. Just keep everything as normal, and then we’ll just go in there with a positive attitude.
“I think the girls handle it better than me, to be honest. I was really nervous on Saturday. You’re back on a level playing field, no one’s got a better opportunity than anyone else when you’re back at games like that.”
The Heelers will go into the game with a feeling of pride, not just about what’s been achieved this year, but also with an eye on year-on-year development.
“I feel proud of my team that we’ve made it again, back-to-back,” Madden said.
“It’s no small feat to make a grand final, so I’m very proud of the girls and it’s been a long road for us this year.
“We’ve had a lot of injuries and clashes with other codes, and we’ve got three juniors. We’ve never really had the same team on the paddock twice, but we’ve got there.
