Strong hands: Glen Waverley Hawks players including David Lang will get a second chance to beat North Ringwood in the EFL division 3 grand final on Saturday. Picture: Sam Stiglec
GLEN Waverley Hawks are set for a rematch with North Ringwood in the Eastern Football League division 3 grand final at East Burwood Reserve this Saturday.
The Hawks beat Boronia by 22 points in the preliminary final on Saturday to earn a second go at the Saints.
Hawks coach Mick Gaul said the disappointment from the Hawks' major semi-final loss to the Saints had driven his side in its clash with Boronia.
"We are looking forward to playing them again; I think that played a big part in the win against Boronia, " he said. "The boys were disappointed in the way they presented themselves against North Ringwood last time.
"They are looking forward to the challenge."
Gaul said the Hawks had made a major improvement on their discipline after their last clash with the Saints.
"We just refocused on our own game plan and structures. We were pretty undisciplined in the week before in a lot of areas with not following team rules and so forth.
"We had a strong emphasis on that during the week for us to focus on what we know to do and do well — address those areas where we thought we were poor in, like our tackling, ball pressure and foot skills.
The Hawks were once again led by 19-year old Tim Cook, who was named best player along with Fia Tootoo, Andrew Riddle, Dean Kennaugh and Ryan Mawdsley.
Gaul praised the play of Cook and fellow youngsters David Lang and Corey Walker in the finals and 17-year-old Ash Black also caught the coach's eye.
"They have really stepped up in the finals.
"We haven't got that many older blokes but those guys are giving our players a lift."
The only headache for the Hawks heading into the grand final is the inevitable disappointment at the selection table, with Gaul to spend the week pondering his grand final side.
No matter who pulls on the jumper, he believes the Hawks will do much better than in their previous meeting with the Saints.
"I firmly believe we are in a better place than our last grand final [2011 division 4 grand final].
"No doubt we are going in as underdogs, but we are happy with that.
"They [North Ringwood] deserve to be favourites and have have proved themselves over a number of years as a good division 3 side.
"It's a good challenge but our boys lift when they are challenged."
EFL division 3 preliminary final
Glen Waverley Hawks 4.2, 6.5, 8.8, 12.10 (82) d Boronia 2.2, 3.6, 7.9, 8.12 (60)
Goals: Glen Waverley Hawks: A Azzopardi, S Grasser 3, D Gray, N Singh 2, D Lang, B Riddle. Boronia: J Heath 3, M Smith 2, L McKernan, M Mollica, J Bolton. Best: Glen Waverley Hawks: T Cook, F Tootoo, A Riddle, R Lepore, D Kennaugh, R Mawdsley. Boronia: L Allison, D Grice, S O'Reilly, S McKenzie, L McKernan.