BMD Premiership grand final preview

Author: Rikki-Lee Arnold Statewide content producer
Timestamp: Fri 24 May 2024, 10:25 AM

The deciding moment is here.

Following one of the closest and most competitive BMD Premiership seasons that has been played, the Mackay Cutters and Norths Devils are the last two teams standing and will go head-to-head in this Saturday's grand final.

From 2pm at Redcliffe's Kayo Stadium, it will be a battle to see who will go down in the history.

While the North Queensland Gold Stars won the big dance two years ago, the premiership has never been claimed under the Mackay Cutters banner.

And on the other side of the park, Norths Devils are only two years into the competition and also looking to claim their inaugural trophy.

Ahead of Saturday's clash, the two coaches have shared their thoughts on the game.

BMD Premiership grand final

Mackay Cutters v Norths Devils

Mackay Cutters coach Marco Peters: "Our patience was really good last week. We didn’t panic at any stage of the semi-final so that’s a sign of a really good team. We had a number of changes which ties into our mantra this year - next player up and having the ability to adapt and change and embrace any type of scenario. Finals are always a grind and I believe we’ve got the two best teams from the year based on consistency and performance in the grand final. But we'll be two different teams from the last time we met in Round 9. The strengths of each team will still be there but it’s going to come down to the momentum and holding that momentum. Watching the girls evolve since November and having multiple training bases and coming into one, the girls have done a tremendous job. We probably have connected better than I have seen before and very similar to how we connected in 2022 with our North Queensland Gold Stars team, so I really love that. That’s been the key. Watching how these girls have kept that connection all year with all the changes, if we can continue that, it will put us in good stead come Saturday."

Norths Devils coach Meg Ward: "Against the Burleigh Bears, you always know how much they're going to bring to the table. For our girls to step up, especially the way they did towards the end of the second half, you could see they were really just having fun, enjoying themselves out there. I was really proud of the girls and their efforts. This week we come up against the Cutters and they've had a massive season. They've been building towards it, only getting better. We're going to have to really step up and tighten up our pack. They make a lot of yardage through the middle of the field so we have to match that. Just as equally, they have strong outside backs and can shift the ball, so we're going to have to be working hard on our edges to shut that down. To win the premiership, it would mean everything. You see the sacrifices all the girls have made, the time and effort they've put in. As much as it would mean to me, I would feel most excited for them. I would love to see those girls create lifelong memories and celebrate those friendships they'll have forever by winning a grand final."