Midfield looms as key battleground in Upper Great Southern Football League grand final

Williams player-coach Gerard Medlen believes this Sunday’s Upper Great Southern Football League grand final will be decided by the midfield battle. The Cats will be out to win back-to-back premierships when they face Katanning Wanderers at Clayton Road Oval in Narrogin. The two sides will meet for a fourth time this season, and the Cats have won all three past encounters, including a 33-point triumph in the second semifinal a fortnight ago. The Cats will look to veteran ball winners Matt Priddis and Simon Panizza, along with young talent Addison Dew, to lead their side to premiership success. Medlen said the Cats could make changes for the decider. “We could have three to four potential changes due to blokes being out injured,” he said. “It’s always a hard one having a week off. “A week off probably helps but you want to keep your winning momentum going. “We would like to think that we can keep our perfect record against them going. “I think it will be a battle of the midfields. I think that’s where it will be won and lost. “Playing in any grand final is a great incentive, but winning back-to-back flags would be even better. The second semifinal and clash in Katanning were red-hot and a grand final goes up 10 per cent, so I expect it to be a cracking game.” The Wanderers will play in their third grand final in the past five seasons and will chase a second premiership in that time. Coming off a strong win in the preliminary final, the Wanderers will hope to overturn the second semi-final result and win their first flag since 2017. “No changes at this stage, everyone is fit and firing,” Wanderers coach Mark Pinney said. “We are aiming to turn the tables on all of our encounters this year. “We will look to play high pressurised football, play our game plan and our style. “They have been the benchmark for the past couple of seasons. “I think the game will be won through the middle of the ground. “I have put a lot of pressure on my defence this season and they will need to be strong again because they have a very good forward line.” Ex-AFL player Kade Stewart, captain James Laurino and ruckman Khallon Zilm loom as match winners for the Wanderers. The league grand final starts at 2.30pm on Sunday. Brookton-Pingelly and the Cats will meet in the reserves decider, while the Wanderers face Narrogin in the C-grade and D-grade grand finals earlier in the day.