Group 9 Grand Final Preview: Hear from both coaches and our celebrity tipsters ahead of the big game

By Tallon Smith

The 2024 Group 9 First Grade title will go on the line this Sunday afternoon when the Wagga Kangaroos take on the Young Cherrypickers in a massive Grand Final clash at McDonald’s Park.

With both clubs aiming to break lengthy premiership droughts (Young’s being 33 years dating back to their 1991 title win, and Kangaroos’ sitting at 15 years since their 2009 triumph), the stage is set for a blockbuster clash tipped to draw a big crowd to the Wagga Wagga venue.

Young Cherrypickers Captain-Coach Tom Giles said that the support for his squad has been incredible, and that the young side will draw from the experience of the older heads in the team, many of whom played in their 2022 defeat to Gundagai.

“The support has been overwhelming, nearly every shop in town has got decorations up and jerseys up and stuff like that, so it’s been unreal,” he said.

“I’ve got a pretty young squad, but we’ve put some old heads around the joint and they’ve been around a fair bit.”

As for the speculation surrounding the clash and Young’s biggest chance since 1991 to end their drought, Giles said that while there is an element of pressure, his side should be ready to go and block out the noise once they cross the white line on Sunday.

“Look, [there’s] pressure, it’s a Grand Final,” he said.

“We are probably the favourites, and everyone knows that, but we’ve had pressure all year.

“We’ve been the top side all year and we continue to prove that we are, so I think my boys, when they cross that line, I think we’ll be all good and we’ll be ready to go.”

The Cherrypickers have dominated the competition in 2024, losing only one game (*Photo: Supplied – Young Cherrypickers Facebook*)

Regarding the game plan, Giles said the Cherrypickers have got their eye on a few key Kangaroos players that they will need to shut down, whilst also declaring that the Young side will stick to what has worked for them throughout the year.

“I’ve nominated about two or three key players for them, there’s no surprise obviously Smarty [James Smart] gets around the field there, and he’s played in those eight or something grand finals,” he said.

“Zeik Foster there is a key for us [to shut down] at six, a good running five-eighth, and then a couple of their middles, they go alright, Zac Graham has been going good.

“Nothing changes for us, I’m not doing any new plays or [anything] like that, no surprises will be coming and if they can stop it, then they can stop it, but if they can’t, then I think we’ll walk away with a win.”

Team Lists – First Grade Grand Final

Meanwhile, Kangaroos Coach Nathan Rose said that despite losing star fullback Latrell Seigwalt to Redcliffe in the Queensland Cup this year (where he will play for the Dolphins in the Grand Final this weekend) and his own unavailability for the clash, the drive to win within the Kangaroos team following last year’s agonising defeat to Tumut will serve to motivate what is still a very strong football side.

“When you make a Grand Final and you fall short, it always drives you the following year to go one better,” he said.

“Obviously [we have] a bit of a different team to last year player wise with a few blokes moving on and a few blokes hanging up the boots, but I feel that we’ve got as strong a side as we did last year, and I still feel like we’ve got a good enough team to get the job done.”

Wagga Kangaroos Captain-Coach Nathan Rose won’t play in Sunday’s Grand Final, with Illawarra Premiership-winning former Collegians halfback Zeik Foster to wear the number 6 jumper.

As for their opponents, Rose said that while the Cherrypickers’ strength in the forwards is impossible to deny, the Kangaroos are focused on playing their own game on Sunday and attacking the game rather than trying to contain their opponents.

“There’s no doubt that they’ve got a big forward pack, but I think first and foremost we’ve got to get ourselves in check,” he said.

“I think if we can do that well and attack the game head on, we’re in with a chance.”

The First Grade action on Sunday kicks off at 3pm.

Lower Grades

Sunday’s Reserve Grade Grand Final sees the Albury Thunder tackle the Gundagai Tigers in what shapes as an absolute cracker of a game between two hungry sides.

The Thunder defeated the Tigers 12-10 in the Major Semi Final in Young two weeks ago to qualify for the Grand Final with a week’s rest, becoming the first team to beat Gundagai this year in the process, while the Tigers were forced to duke it out with Young on the Border for the remaining spot.

The Thunder’s win should give them plenty of confidence heading into the big dance, but the Tigers, led by the Bell trio of brothers Kaidan and Cody and father Chris, will be fired up and ready to avenge their loss.

The Burmeister Shield decider is set to kick off at 1:35pm.

Meanwhile, in the League Tag, old foes Temora and Wagga Brothers will meet again in the decider, for the ninth time in the 16 years the grade has been run.

With the ledger at 5-3 the way of the Brothers in their previous eight encounters on Group 9’s biggest day, Minor Premiers Temora will be eager to get the win and close the gap, but the Brothers have been the League Tag experts in Group 9, and one would be silly to write the eight-time premiers off.

The League Tag action begins at 12:20pm.

Finally, in the two underage grades it’s two Wagga derbies with the South City Bulls taking on the Kangaroos in the Under 16s, followed by the Brothers also facing the Roos in the 18s.

With bragging rights on the line, expect the brightest young stars in the competition to shine in two games that are definitely worth arriving early for.

Kickoff times for those games are at 9:30am and 10:55am respectively.