PFNL finals: Waroona Demons eye return to premiership glory

The Demons are set to feature in their eighth grand final over the past nine years after taking down Baldivis last weekend, a stretch that included four consecutive premierships from 2009-2012.

But while grand final hype continues to mount around the league, Demons coach Dean Taylor said his group was feeling calm ahead of the big clash.

“It’s obviously exciting and I think it’s exciting for our club, but on a playing group level I think we’ve been there enough times in the past now to treat it like any other game,” he said.

“We won’t get too worked up about it – I think the boys are pretty used to it by now.”

Taylor’s calm demeanor epitomises Waroona’s success in the past decade, but they will need to win this weekend if they are to even the premiership ledger with the Tigers.

Since the league began operating under the banner of the Peel Football League (now Peel Football and Netball League) in 1992, Pinjarra has won more flags than any other club.

Their tally of five gives them the edge over Waroona and South Mandurah, who sit just one behind with four apiece.

The Demons have the chance to square things up with the Tigers this Saturday, but will need to bring their best as they head into the game as slight underdogs despite showing stunning form throughout the finals.

Clean ball movement has been a feature of Waroona’s dominant post-season play thus far, and will need to be a staple of their game once again if they are to conquer the Tigers.

“We feel like we’ve got a pretty good balance, but obviously so do Pinjarra so we need to make sure we execute well and keep the ball out of their hands,” Taylor said.

“Particularly when we go forward. We know they’ve got some real elite users at half back and they rebound the play quite well.”

The sides are no stranger to one another, having faced off three times this year with Pinjarra holding a 2-1 advantage.

“Last time we played them we lost by two goals and we were probably a bit too defensive in our approach,” Taylor said.

“There are a few things we will look at but overall it starts and ends in the middle, so we need to win there.”

The midfield battle looms as a beauty for the fans, with Waroona stars Ben Wright, Courtney Lakay and Rhett Mason taking on Pinjarra’s Rob Beswick, Rohan Kerr and Mackenzie O’Brien.

Both sides will be close to full strength for their premiership tilts.