MAJOR SEMI-FINAL

PIRATES v NARRABRI

NARRABRI will return from a season’s hiatus from the finals at Ken Chillingworth Oval tomorrow with a grand final goal.

The Blue Boars have bounced back with a vengeance after missing the finals series for the first time in many seasons last year, and will travel to Tamworth with their confidence high and with a shot at a home grand final.

That has been a rare luxury for all of their recent finals appearances, and will be a major motivation after forcing their way into second spot with wins over the two other title contenders in the Buccaneers and Inverell to finish the regular season.

Their victory over the Buccaneers was achieved at home and, while they didn’t taste the same success on their previous visit to Tamworth, the travel prospect isn’t daunting them, having had to do their share of winning on the road in past finals campaigns.

“Narrabri’s used to travelling in finals footy. We haven’t had a grand final at home for years,” Blue Boars captain Brock Johnstone said.

“And we have been playing good footy away. We’ve beaten both Walcha and Inverell.”

Those wins have fallen in an eight -game stretch, Johnstone pointing out that one of the factors behind that is they have been able to maintain some personnel consistency.

“We’re just all gelling at the moment,” he said.

He is one of the Blue Boars finals veterans and knows what it takes to win under the finals pressure.

The Blue Boars have already proved that the Buccaneers are beatable and stand as the only side to knock them over but will have to improve their talk on the field, and be vigilant at the breakdown.

That was where Johnstone felt the game would be won and lost – the battle at the rucks and mauls.

“Whoever gets the ball will get the game,” he said.

As a breakaway that is his forte – being a pest at the breakdown – and the overall effort at the breakdown will be crucial to the quality and quantity of ball feeding through to the backs.

It will also be important to stifling the Buccaneers’ attack and limiting the impact their forwards can have, with the Blue Boars looking at their forwards as being their strong point.

The two sides will also match up in second grade, while Gunnedah and the Buccaneers will meet in the U19s, and proceeding that the home side and Inverell in the U17s.