Defender Luke Ryan remains wary of a Subiaco side looking to make amends for a loss to Peel earlier in the WAFL finals series when the two sides face off in this Sunday’s WAFL Grand Final at Domain Stadium.
While Subiaco won all three of their contests against Peel in the 2017 regular season, Peel have had the upper hand in recent finals - winning last year’s grand final and the second semi-final a fortnight ago at Leederville Oval.
Ryan says Subiaco, who have lost only two games in 2017, can not be underestimated.
“They’ll come out firing. We know they will, there’s a very physical side,” Ryan said.
“They’ll look at the vision from us two weeks ago and they’ll change a lot of things, but we’re prepared for that.
“It will be a physical game for the whole four quarters.”
Ryan highlighted defender Sam Collins and Matt Taberner as two of Peel’s key players to tame the Lions.
Collins took 10 marks as a key back for Peel in the second semi final while Taberner kicked four goals.
Ryan added that the midfield battle was also crucial.
“That’s where it’s won and lost, in the midfield,” Ryan said.
“That’s pretty much come down to our midfield and pressure around the ball will help us backs out which will be good.”
Peel come into the game after a one-week break and Ryan said the group had a solid training session on Sunday to maintain their match fitness.
“Our preparation has been good, we had that week off and we had a pretty big session on Sunday as a group,” Ryan said.
“It was a fairly solid session but the boys trained well.
“The mood’s fantastic. All the boys are up and about and can’t wait for Sunday.”
