GSFL 2024: Albany coach Jamie Ramm says focus firmly on winning another flag in spicy grand final with rivals

Albany coach Jamie Ramm isn’t getting caught up in the derby hype ahead of their spicy Great Southern Football League grand final against arch rivals Royals on Saturday. The Sharks are looking to add a second premiership to their historic first flag last season and have been the benchmark of the competition by claiming the minor premiership. A stunning 16-point victory which capped off an incredible come-from-behind victory over the Lions in the qualifying final meant the Sharks found the direct path to their third straight grand final. It’s no secret the two sides aren’t the friendliest of co-tenants, with each four of their heated contests being decided by 16 points or less. But Ramm said he will not get caught up in the heat of the battle in pursuit of back-to-back victories on the biggest day of the season. “I don’t want to buy into (the rivalry) too much, because I just want to actually concentrate on how we play footy,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing I’m putting across to my players, is just to concentrate on what we’re actually doing and not worrying about all that sort of stuff because if you’re too wound up, you forget about the important parts of the game.” Despite being at the pointy end of the ladder in recent seasons, Ramm said he won’t draw much from their previous experiences on the big stage. “Grand finals are funny, they’re all different every time,” he said. “You don’t take any grand final lightly because there’s a lot of interesting results in grand finals so I wouldn’t lean too much into that.” The Lions boast arguably the best ruck combo in the competition with Stephen Beal and Nathan Powell, but Ramm backed his under-sized ruck duo in Jesse Patane and Harrison Hordacre to compete with the assistance of their diligent role-players. “We’ll just do what we can . . . we’ve got a couple of guys to go through there, and that’s one area that their (strong),” he said. “Our on-ballers have had it all year so it’s just something that we’ve got to try to control. “I think they’re going to put work into more than just them, it’s not won by two people it’s going to be won by team effort. “Everyone’s got a role, and we’ll just go with it.” The Sharks will be buoyed by a fully fit unit but Ramm said there will be a hard luck story at the selection table. Youngsters Kaleb Germain and George Bockman played in the winning league qualifying final before going back to play in a colts preliminary final last Saturday while Mitch Collier, who was dropped to reserves for the qualifying final, is also poised to come back into the league team. “Those two (Germain and Bockman) are definitely in the running to play, but I still haven’t made the final decision on our side,” he said. “They’re in the mix, but we’ve got, unfortunately, a couple hard decisions. “There is (a hard luck story) there always is.” The grand final will start at 2.30pm on Saturday at Retravision Stadium.