Defender Nick Connors has passed a fitness test on his injured knee and will line up for St Mary’s in tomorrow’s GFNL Grand Final against St Joseph’s.
Connors suffered the injury in the first semi-final win over Newtown & Chilwell and missed the preliminary final victory over Colac.
However, the Saints have confirmed he successfully negotiated training last night and will make his first appearance on GMHBA Stadium since kicking the goal that snatched the 2019 premiership away from Colac.
Sam Christensen is the unlucky player to make way for Connors, but has the consolation prize of playing in the reserves decider against the Towners.
“He just suffered some bruising in behind the kneecap, which had caused some discomfort initially, and he wasn’t right to take on Colac,” St Mary’s co-coach Luke Rayner told the Beyond the Boundary podcast yesterday afternoon.
“On reflection now, it was the right decision to make.
“We were able to get through Colac and give Chip another five days, roughly, to continue to improve and improve his fitness.”
St Joseph’s coach Ron Watt, who is chasing a record-equalling fifth GFNL premiership as coach, confirmed his team will be the same as the one that took care of the Tigers in the second semi-final.
The heartbreak story for Joeys is the absence of the versatile Zac Knights, who suffered a broken jaw in a training accident earlier this month.
“He’s certainly someone we miss,” Watt said.
“As a person, he can play in a number of spots and take care of a number of opposition players.
“But, also as a young man, he’s great around the club; he’s stayed involved as much as he can.
“He’s been along and he’s sat in the box, (and) helped us with some stats the last game we played.”
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