A FOOTBALL Mid North Coast Premier League grand final victory tomorrow would cap off a remarkable turnaround for the Port Saints.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Just two short years ago, the club was involved in the promotion/relegation match on grand final day at Regional Stadium.
The Saints beat Tuncurry Forster Tigers 3-1, and have been on the up ever since.
The same core group of players now finds itself in a premiership decider.
They've come a long way, with plenty of hard work and development under coach Tony Judge.
The Saints undertook a steep learning curve early last season, and they have been all the better for it in 2015.
"They've just come so far and the amount of improvement they've made in the last couple of years is outstanding," Judge said.
The last time Michael Bishop played on the Regional Stadium turf, he scored a free kick from out wide which went a long way towards helping Saints get promoted again.
Bishop hopes he can do it again, but he said there was an element of luck about the goal from a couple of years back.
"It was meant to be a cross," he said.
He couldn't wait to do it all again tomorrow, but with a whole lot more at stake.
"I'm as keen as I've ever been," Bishop said. "It's not often you get to play in the grand final at a stadium like this."
Judge is sweating on a couple of niggling injuries, but is confident of success tomorrow, no matter who he puts on the park
"People have just got to play with those [injuries] and do their best for the team," he said.
He'll have to make a couple of personnel changes to counter Redbacks' tactics.
"They're very well organised and they work very hard," Judge said.
"Camden Haven play a different style of football to teams we've played in previous weeks.
"We'll have to make sure we match how they play and make sure we've got a balanced team."
Tomorrow's match kicks off at 2.30pm.
It follows the reserve grade final between Wallis Lake and Kempsey Saints at 12.30pm.
The first match of the day is the Minor Premiers Challenge between Kempsey Saints and Tuncurry Forster Tigers at 10.30am.