Brothers and Easts fight for grand-final spot
An express ticket to the grand-final is up for grabs when Brothers and Easts clash in this year's Trinity Premier Rugby Major Semi-final at Ballymore on Sunday (kickoff 5pm).
The winner receives a week off and heads straight to the grand final in a fortnight, while the loser will face either GPS or Sunnybank in the preliminary final on Sunday week.
Both clubs have responded to missing out on last year's top four, with Brothers suffering only one loss on their way to the Minor Premiership, while Easts finished in second place with 14 wins and four defeats.
Two of those defeats came in the past month, with their other two losses to Brothers in round two and 11.
Brothers have had the better run into the finals with three consecutive wins since their shock 38-11 loss to Sunnybank, which has satisfied coach Rob Murdoch that his side is primed for another quality performance.
"(Our previous two defeats of Easts) give us confidence going into the game, but this is semi-final football now. We have to take this game at face value," Murdoch said.
"Guys will talk about finals football being more about field position and more defence, but we wouldn't want to change our gameplan substantially for a final as that's not what we're about or how we play the game."
The game provides a contrast of styles with Easts possessing the best defensive record in the competition (285) and Brothers the second best attacking record (547), but Murdoch says this shouldn't count for much with both sides expected to increase their intensity as they vie for a week's rest leading into the final.
"It's semi-finals footy so the intensity is going to be up. I've specifically asked for a little bit more, but I think we've had a reasonable level all year. Everyone is just excited to do what they're doing," he said.
Brothers are boosted by the return of Liam Shaw from suspension, but lose Simon Price who received a red card in last week's 27-21 victory over the Gold Coast. Damon Murphy also remains on the sideline, but Murdoch remains confident he will recover and play a part sometime throughout the finals.
Easts also go into the game near full-strength with an ankle injury to Jack Turley the only major concern.
Coach Pat Richards can enter the match confident after his side reclaimed some good form in their 39-20 victory over Norths and now hope it's a case of third-time lucky as they aim to upset the competition leaders.
"(Brothers) are the top side in the competition and they deserve to be. They know they're capable of beating us and we've just have to try to improve on those areas we struggled with last time we played them," Richards said.
"Our approach has been the same as what we've been doing each week, which is taking it game by game, but the difference this time is the prize is a lot bigger. That creates pressure because if we went in there thinking it was a normal round, where even if you had a loss you could get it back next week is no longer the case.
"Getting into the grand-final next week and having a week off is just massive at this time of year."
Defence has been the key for Easts this season, with Richards believing his side requires another spirited display to trouble their opposition.
"Our defence will be really important for us. The couple of times we've been a bit off we've lost those games," he said.
"If the boys don't turn up on Sunday well that's it. They know themselves how they turn up mentally will affect their performance."
