THE derby stage hasn’t been set much bigger than this.
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Well, for a long time anyway, with Pirates and Tamworth set to wage minor semi-final war at Ken Chillingworth Oval on Saturday.
Most of the players probably hadn’t even laced up their boots the last time the crosstown rivals clashed in a finals match.
The 1996 grand final has been thrown around as the last finals derby.
It’s certainly new territory for opposing captains Jake Douglas (Pirates) and Harry Veitch (Tamworth).
Both are excited about Saturday for the merits of playing in a semi-final itself.
That’s what all the hard work through the season is for – to play in these big games.
And Saturday will be big.
While the hostility might not be there of the old days, the rivalry remains as strong as ever.
If anything, it’s been intensified by the Magpies’ resurgence, which saw them just a month ago end nine years of derby pain.
That still rankles with Pirates. But for all their plans for revenge, Douglas said they can’t look at Saturday any differently to any other game.
“It’s about going out and doing a job,” he said.
“The cross-town rivalry can’t play a part.
“We’ve just got to be enthusiastic about what we do but don’t let the occasion rule us.”
That’s been the Magpies’ approach as well.
“The preparation’s been the same,” Veitch said.
“We’re trying not to let it play on our minds too much.”
It will be his first taste of top-flight finals action, with the Magpies last making the finals in 2011.
“It’s been a long time building to this,” he said.
Asked what he felt the difference this year was for them, he was quick to answer self-belief.
A bit of continuity, and a bit more size have also helped.
“It (size) gives us a bit more momentum,” Veitch said.
“And we’re a lot fitter, which helps us in the back ends of games.
“We’re playing the 80 rather than the 60 minutes we were playing for.”
He said they had taken a lot from that last game.
“We know what we’ve got to work on to secure the result,” he said.
That said, finals are a different game.
“It’s a different style of footy and those one percenters really count for it in the end,” he said.
Douglas is well versed on the vagaries of finals and, while Veitch felt it would be won and lost in the forward battle, Douglas felt it would come down to errors.
“It’s about minimising our errors – it’s as simple as that,” Douglas said.
“You control the ball, you control the game.Whoever makes the fewer errors will win.”
That and discipline let them down in that last game.
Gunnedah and Barraba will also host finals action on the weekend, with Gunnedah hosting the Tier 2 major semi-finals on Saturday and Barraba the minor semi-finals on Sunday.