Hannans skipper says team is ready to turn the tables on favourites Great Boulder in EGCA A-grade grand final

Hannans captain Matt Ralph revealed a superstitious side on the eve of Saturday’s grand final clash against Great Boulder, with the Eastern Goldfields Cricket Association A-grade flag up for grabs. Hannans are underdogs for the clash at Wallace Park, after Great Boulder led the competition with 10 wins and who will carry an eight-match winning sequence into the decider. Ralph, however, has revelled in what he said had been a memorable few weeks on a personal level. “It’s been a whirlwind — initially with getting life membership of the club (at Hannans’ centenary reunion) and my little girl was also born two weeks ago,” Ralph said. “They say good things run in threes. “Hopefully, we’re talking again after the weekend (as premiers).” Hannans lost five consecutive matches in the run to the finals, before the slide was halted against Lake View in round 14. After round 15 was abandoned, they followed-up last weekend in the elimination final by beating North Kalgoorlie, and Ralph said the group was ready to notch a third straight win. “This isn’t the first time we’ve gone in as underdogs and we’re experienced enough now that it’s just another game of cricket,” Ralph said. “We had a run there when we had to sort some stuff out — we’ve found a bit of form and we’re going in with high expectations. “We came back (from third place) to be premiers two seasons ago and as far as being a minor premier, I think it’s almost irrelevant when it comes down to it.” Hannans this weekend chase the club’s first flag since 2021-22, after also being crowned A-grade premiers in 2019-20. Great Boulder is lining up in a fifth consecutive grand final. They have lost each of the past three deciders, since being crowned premiers in 2020-21. “There’s definitely a bit of pressure on us,” Great Boulder captain Bevan Bennell said. “But we’ve been in this position before and it’s about how we rock-up and play on the day. “Last season, we were confident and at the end of the day, we were beaten I think by a better team. “This season we’re in a similar position, as far as how the teams stack-up against each other, but I’d love to think we can win it this time.” Also on Saturday, North Kalgoorlie meet Great Boulder in the B-grade grand final. Grand final teams: A-grade (Wallace Park at 10.30am): Great Boulder: Alex Jerrard, Bevan Bennell (captain), Daniel Campo, Daniel Colling, Daniel Tebble, Dylan Hinchliffe, Joshua Rushmore, Kody Kelman, Mewa Jeetarwal, Waqar ali Ahmed, Warren August and Prashanthon Nagaraja. Hannans: Aarib Tareen Khan, Alex Jago, Anthony Babic, George Hannington-Hodge, Graham Kennedy, Harrison Wheatcroft, Harry Merritt-Blann, James Alexander, Martin Potsekayi, Matthew Ralph (captain), Shane Donnellan and Shasa Molgaard Angel. B-grade (Wallace Park at 11am): North Kalgoorlie: Barry Cluning, Callum Grace, Fletcher Edwards, Glenn Gascoyne (captain), Jordan Delbridge, Kurtis Grace, Liam Radford, Matt Taylor, Ryan Macdonald, Sam Wood, Scott Nelson and Tex McLeod. Great Boulder: Brock Reilly, Clinton Hoare, Jake Basire, Jake Prunster, Kalahni Vlasich, Mitchell Gray (captain), Nathan Lovell, Nathan Weir, Scott Edwards, Tarj Kelman, Tony Thomsen and Trent Reed.