The Townsville A grade finals start this Sunday, when the third-placed Centrals take on the fourth-placed Western Lions in sudden-death football.
It seems destined be a close game, followed by another cracker taking place shortly after, when the ladder-leading Brothers take on second-placed Herbert River.
The winner of the main game will get a week off and skip straight to the grand final, so both teams have it all to play for.
Despite the cherry of a week's rest before the grand final, Brothers coach Dave Ackers says his side is focussed firmly on the challenge presented by Herbert River.
"We haven't looked past Sunday so we're not too interested in what's happening the following week, we're just preparing for this week against Herbert River," Ackers said.
"Any semi-final is an important semi final, so we're preparing for a tough battle against Herbert River so it would be good to get a win, but I guess we have earned the right to a second chance if that wasn't to be."
In their previous encounters this year Brothers and Herbert River have come away with a win each, placing the teams as close in skill level as possible.
"They'll be very tough. They're a quality team. We finished on top on for-and-against but they won as many games as we did," Ackers said.
Herbert River coach Mitch Seri is looking forward to the contest, and is hoping for a week off afterwards to help refresh his side for the final game of the season.
"It's really important for us. If you're lucky enough to go straight through it just gives a chance for a few of those boys to get over a few niggling injuries, so we'd certainly like to get the win this weekend and go straight in," Seri said.
Having beaten Brothers once this season already, and having come second to them on the ladder only on for-and-against, the Herbert River coach is confident his side can get the job done.
"We'll definitely go into the game confident, Brothers are a really good footy team so we're under no illusions, it's going to be a really tough game, but we're confident that if we play the type of footy we want to play we can get a win," he said.
"I think Brothers have definitely got the best forward pack in the competition, so I really think if we can minimise the metres they get through our middle, I think that's going to go a long way towards winning the game."
