Deer Park left no stone unturned in its quest to create WRFL history.
The Lions are just one win away from becoming the first division 1 team to claim a premiership four-peat.
They assembled the most talented list in the competition, but also have the most professional and hard working squad to match that talent.
Lions’ player-coach Marc Bullen swears by the club’s training regime, the benefits of which were on show as the Lions outlasted Hoppers Crossing for a 52-point second semi-final victory at Avalon Airport Oval on Saturday.
“Our preparation has been first-class,” Bullen told Star Weekly. “We’ve been absolutely smashing each other on the track for the last six weeks.
“You saw today, our physicality and our fitness came to the fore across the ground, which was great.”
Deer Park now has a week’s break and bypasses the preliminary final.
Their first session back tonight will be focused on recovery, but from Thursday onwards, it will be full steam ahead as the Lions make use of Essendon Football Club’s training base at Tullamarine.
“We’ve been training at Essendon’s facility over the last couple of years,” Bullen said.
“It really sets us up to make sure we don’t take the eyes off the prize on the weekend.”
Deer Park should be even stronger for the grand final. Premier onballer Jack Purton-Smith is tipped to return from a hip flexor injury, while full forward Brendan Fevola continues to impress on the training track after a sternum injury.
“Touch wood, we’ve come away without any injuries today,” Bullen said. “And we’ve got two A-graders back in the side for the grand final.”
Deer Park’s potency in attack sets it apart from the rest of the competition.
But even after kicking a winning score, Bullen reckons the Lions’ ball use inside 50 was not at the level it should be.
“Our ball use forward of centre was below expectation today, so we really want to focus on that final third entry kick into the forward line over the course of the next couple of weeks, to give us a chance to put more scoreboard pressure on,” Bullen said.
“Generally, we firmly think we’ve got the right balance across the forward half.
“The combinations that we can put up in any given quarter is great.”
Deer Park now awaits Saturday’s winner of the preliminary final between Hoppers Crossing and Altona at Avalon Airport Oval.
