Darley may have already sewn up its spot in the Ballarat Cricket Association first grade finals, but captain-coach Heath Pritchard said the side will not be resting on its laurels.
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The Lions are 16 points clear of Golden Point in fifth position, but will enter its two-day clash with East Ballarat this weekend like it is a final.
Darley has only made the firsts finals on two occasions in its 15-year involvement in the BCA, but Pritchard said there would be no complacency or pleasure taken from simply making the finals – instead, a desire to go all the way.
“We haven’t played a lot of finals as a club, there’s no doubt about that. So to make the finals and lock it away with a round to go is great, but by the same token there’s no point making finals if you’re not going to win it,” Pritchard said.
“We’re certainly going in with the attitude that we’re not there to make up the numbers or that just making finals is good enough – the next five weeks is pretty important cricket.
“If anything, our finals start this week.”
This year’s top four has seen a number of clubs occupy each spot, but the last month has seen the current four cement itself, but a clear favourite is yet to arise.
The common thought among captains is that this year’s premiership is up for grabs for the team that finds its form at the right time – a view shared by Pritchard.
“I think anyone can beat anyone in the top four.
“It’s a fairly even competition, each sides got different strengths and weaknesses, each sides got different players they rely on. It’s about whoever plays the next five weeks the best will win the flag.”
Pritchard felt the match against East Ballarat was a perfect lead in to finals.
The Lions captain-coach holds the Hawks in high regard and said this week would be about fine-tuning some key areas of their game in order to enter the finals with confidence.
“Ideally, you’re going in with the win and you’re going in with some form under your belt. This two-day game is about trying to tune-up for the week after, but at the same token you want to win every game you play in.
”I’ve got the utmost respect for East Ballarat...I think they’re a good team, it’s a really good hit-out for us going into the finals. Our record against East Ballarat hasn’t been great over my two years at the club. They’ve certainly got enough good players to challenge us.”
LADDER
Wendouree 54 points, 1.5963%, Napoleons-Sebastopol 51, 1.3308, Darley 51, 1.3219, Mt Clear 49, 1.2440, Golden Point 33, 1.0486, East Ballarat 33, 0.7892, Brown Hill 31, 0.8415, Ballarat-Redan 27, 0.7073, North Ballarat 27, 0.6547
