Mt Clear captain Darcy Thomson has reflected many times on his side's heartbreaking defeat in last season's Ballarat Cricket Association first grade grand final.
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The club leader is desperate to make amends for that two-wicket defeat by Golden Point in an epic decider that went deep into the fourth day.
Thomson said he had been thinking about the loss "a lot" during the current campaign.
"It's been eating away at me all season," he admitted.
Mt Clear is highly fancied for this season's premiership after finishing the home and away rounds on top of the ladder.
The Mounties will take on North Ballarat in this weekend's semi-final at Eastern Oval.
Thomson said Mt Clear would most likely field an unchanged team from the one that beat Buninyong last round.
He said the side had taken confidence from its Twenty20 grand final triumph on March 3, but was setting its sights on a bigger prize.
"This is why we play cricket - it's the real cricket finals now," he said.
North Ballarat captain Leigh Lorenzen told The Courier his team would also be unchanged following a loss to East Ballarat in round 15.
The Roosters kept fourth place on the ladder despite the defeat.
The other semi-final - to also be played across Saturday and Sunday - is between East Ballarat and Golden Point.
The Hawks finished in second spot on the table, one position above the Pointies.
East Ballarat and Golden Point have met twice during the 2018-19 first grade season, with the ledger square at one win apiece.
The match will be played on the turf wicket at Alfredton.
Winners of the weekend's semi-finals will progress to the four-day grand final at Eastern Oval.
The two under-13 competitions will kick off a big weekend of Ballarat Cricket Association finals this Friday evening.
Other junior and senior matches are scheduled across both Saturday and Sunday.
