Albion’s expected outright win over Court House at Wolseley Park on Saturday will mean nothing when the likely happens and the two sides meet in the grand final on March 17, leading Albion player James Mack has said.
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On a day of carnage last Saturday, Court House finished at 6-50 in their second innings after being dismissed for 44 in the first innings.
In reply to Court House’s first innings, Albion made 94.
Both sides were without several regular starters.
Mack said the grand final would be a “completely different ball game”.
“You don’t take anything that happens during the year into too much account [in the grand final] … It’s a funny game, finals cricket,” he said.
“It would be nice to win it [the current match], for sure, but it won’t mean a hell of a lot to us going into the grand final.
“In a few weeks it will be a totally new game, with both teams at full tilt, and that will obviously be the ultimate decider.
“Whoever performs on that day is the one that really counts.
“The rest doesn’t sort of matter too much.”
In last season’s grand final Court House snapped Albion’s bid for a hat-trick of premierships.
Mack spoke about Albion’s pride over the fact they were headed towards their seventh straight grand final.
“We haven’t won all of them, by any means, but we’ve always gone in there with the aim to,” he said.
“So if we can get it [the premiership] back, it would be nice.”
Mack’s brother, Albion captain Andy, said last week that Court House were a stronger side on paper than Albion, despite Albion winning the minor premiership this season.
Mack concurred: “We’re a good side and so are they. But if you looked at their side on a piece of paper and ours … I think you’d find theirs would be slightly stronger in terms of their batting depth, and they’ve obviously got good bowling depth as well. We do as well.
“But there’s some high quality players within their side, that’s for sure.”