Nhill co-coach Jake McQueen said he was happy with his team\u2019s four-quarter effort against the Warriors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew Stawell were going to bring the pressure, but that\u2019s the Nhill Tigers\u2019 DNA and we can up it, so I was very pleased with the effort that we brought,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a pretty good set-up now. Everyone knows their routine, and I feel like that\u2019s definitely helped towards the back half of the year because we didn\u2019t really have a routine before the first half the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
McQueen said the team got together on Saturday to watch the Sydney Swans\u2019 thrashing of Brisbane, which inspired them to lift their game of finals football.<\/p>\n
He said the Tigers\u2019 journey was not just about their team, but their club and community, describing their support as like having an extra player.<\/p>\n
It has been a long time since Nhill reached a grand final and even longer since its last premiership, which was in 1981.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re grateful they\u2019re involved and it\u2019s bigger than just us,\u201d McQueen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven after the win last weekend against Thunder, there was a couple of nannas coming down to the pub and having a beer and a feed with us, which they don\u2019t normally do, so it\u2019s nice to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n
McQueen said Stanley Cox, with three goals, played his best game of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u200aI was in prime position, and I just see this big, tall, lanky bloke coming in front of me and I was like \u2018yep, that\u2019ll do\u2019 \u2013 he\u2019s been a real super in for us, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Kobe Hodges\u2019 move from forward to the backline was also influential.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s smooth \u2013 he\u2019s Scott Pendlebury-like. When he gets the ball, he can dodge a couple, but then he makes the right decisions every time, so he\u2019s been huge,\u201d McQueen said<\/p>\n
Ruckman Daniel Batson\u2019s game was also key to Nhill\u2019s win, and McQueen said the veteran stood up against arguably the best ruckman in the league, Josh Fowkes.<\/p>\n
Jarryd and Lucas Dahlenburg and Liam Albrecht were also among the Tigers\u2019 best, while Paul Summers with three goals, Zac Marrow and Aiden Graveson were judged the better players for the Warriors.<\/p>\n
The Tigers head into the preliminary final at Minyip this Saturday to take on Horsham Saints, who went down by eight points to Ararat.<\/p>\n
In windy conditions at Stawell, Ararat took an early lead, led by coach Tom Williamson.<\/p>\n
It was the Saints\u2019 turn to shine in the second quarter, as they outscored the Rats to reduce the margin to just four points at the main break.<\/p>\n
Ararat\u2019s six goals in the third term saw the Rats out to a 21-point lead at the last change, but to the Saints\u2019 credit, a last-quarter fightback showed their spirit. In fact, if the Saints had kicked straight \u2013 they posted 3.4 to Ararat\u2019s 1.3 in the fourth term \u2013 the result could have been a different story.<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t to be for the Saints as Williamson, with six goals, and the usual suspects of Ben Taylor, Tom Mills and Cody Lindsay led the way to earn Ararat\u2019s place in the 2026 grand final, with a chance of winning the Rats\u2019 fourth consecutive premiership.<\/p>\n
For the Saints, Will Brennan, Jacob O\u2019Beirne, Gage Wright and Reid Kuller were best, and the club will again be looking for those players to stand up in the preliminary final against Nhill on Saturday.<\/p>\n