Echuca 1 is on the cusp of a perfect season after going undefeated on its way to claiming the minor premiership, while Rochester will be hoping to spoil the party when they meet at Echuca Lawn Courts.
Echuca hot-shot Todd Charnas said he was expecting a tight encounter on Saturday.
“It should be good, we are all looking forward to it,” Charnas said.
“We know the Rochy crew well so it should be a pretty close match, I think.
“I think it will be very competitive. I think if we all play well it will be close, and hopefully we come out on top.”
Rochester ace Karen Taylor said her side was looking forward to the big game.
“We’re pretty pumped to have a really good contest against Echuca,” Taylor said.
“We all know that we’re up against it, but if we can all play our part and do our bit for the team, I think we’ve got a good chance.”
The match is likely to centre around two key players — Rochester’s Jaycob Dingwall and Echuca’s Roxanne Dicketts.
Dingwall hasn’t lost a men’s singles rubber all season, while Dicketts is also regarded as one of the best female players in the competition.
Both Charnas and Taylor spoke highly of their opponents.
“They [Rochester] have got Jaycob Dingwall who is clearly the best man in the competition by quite a way,” Charnas said.
“Roxanne Dicketts is a very talented player and she’ll test our ladies out,” Taylor said.
The two teams met twice during the regular season with Echuca coming out on top on both occasions, with their most recent clash taking place just a month ago.
However, both Taylor and Charnas downplayed the significance of those results, saying neither side was at full strength for either match-up.
“I don’t think in either much that both of us fielded our full side,” Taylor said.
“I think we’re evenly matched with our full sides in.”
Charnas shared a similar sentiment.
“We haven’t played them when they have been at full strength,” he said.
“It’s been a bit of a disjointed season with COVID and a few washouts and other issues, so it’s a bit hard to get a line on them.”
Echuca last won the division one premiership in 2019-20, while Rochester is hoping to win its first top tier title since 2014-15.
Six grand finals will be held on Saturday overall, with plenty of Echuca teams in action.
Colbinabbin 1 will host Echuca 4 in the senior division two decider, while in the juniors Echuca 10 will face Echuca 8 in the division A finale, Echuca 11 will meet Elmore 5 for the division B title and Colbinabbin 2 will go up against LBU 8.
Both the junior division A and B grand finals will be held at Echuca Lawn Courts at 9am, with the Echuca-Rochester division one clash starts at 1pm.
Elsewhere, the Numurkah Warriors and Velvet Tigers will go head-to-head in the Goulburn Murray Lawn Tennis Association grand final on Saturday in Numurkah.
