Nathalia prepares to take on Echuca juggernaut for a chance of a rare NCWL three-peat

Not that an undefeated record has stopped this Nathalia team in the past.

Nathalia triumphed against the odds in 2021 and most recently in 2022, but despite those back-to-back achievements it will go in as underdog against the mighty Murray Bombers this Sunday at Deakin Reserve.

“They are a great outfit and they’ve finished on top for a reason,” Quarrell said on Monday night.

“It’s a credit to them; they’ve had a great year and hopefully we can shape up and give it a red-hot crack again.”

Nathalia booked its spot in the big dance thanks to its classy performance in the preliminary final against Shepparton United.

A real backs-against-the-wall performance from the Purples, considering United had handed them a reality check defeat in the third last round of the season.

Qaurrell said his side welcomed back key personnel for the preliminary final, one that saw it run out a 4.7 (31) to 0.0 (0) winner.

Vanessa Ward was a standout, while co-coach Alyx Jorgensen, Kendal Judd and co-captain Caitlyn Price were crucial contributors.

“We had a fair chunk of players we’ve been missing the past six or so weeks come back in and it gave us a bit of leadership and a bit of a regroup and we got back to a style we like to play,” he said.

“We had a light run tonight (Monday) and we’ll have another on Wednesday night and we’ve got the whole club behind us with a few of the senior boys coming along. It’s good to have that support from your club.”

In the other camp, Echuca captain Jacquelyn James is hopeful her side can defeat the mental demons on Sunday.

The Murray Bombers have finished the past three NCWL senior women’s seasons on top and unbeaten on the ladder, yet the grand final has delivered the wrong result in all three seasons.

Back for a fourth time in the big dance, James said this year felt difference to years gone past.

“I think it’s a different feeling (to other years),” James said after her Chris Thomas Medal triumph on Monday.

“There’s definitely the belief there that we can do it. If we stick to our processes and stick to our structures and things like that it’s definitely achievable. As long as we play our game and not get sucked into everything else.

“They’re strong hitting girls and go in for the contest really hard and we know we need to be prepared for that. We know they’ve got really strong skill level and can move the ball around quickly.

“We need to make sure we’re doing our things to counter that shut them down too.”

For Quarrell and Nathalia, they will not rest on their experiences and past performances in grand finals.

In the past 10 years, Nathalia’s men’s and women’s senior sides have won seven premierships between them.

The women’s side now has a chance to emulate the men’s incredible run and claim a third consecutive flag ― and its own slice of history.

“It’s going to give us a little bit of an edge,” Quarrell said.

“We’ve given ourselves a 50-50 chance, that’s how we’re approaching it. It’s a clean slate and we’ll see what happens at 3.30pm on Sunday.”