HAVING played soccer and rugby league as a kid growing up in Blayney and now Aussie rules in Orange, Simon Ewin is better qualified than most to sort the sporting cream from the curd.
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“And this is definitely the best of the lot,” Ewin said ahead of Saturday’s Central West AFL grand final against the Bushrangers.
“I never really thought about playing AFL before. I’d watched it on TV a bit and liked it but it’s good now. I wouldn’t go back to league now I’m here.
“This is the best.”
Ewin will play his first senior grand final since making the move to Tigerland in 2011.
“There was no rugby league in Blayney when I was 18 so I just followed mates here,” he said, narrowly missing out on selection in Nathan Pearce’s top 22 for last year’s grand final win over Bathurst.
“It would be good to win with all of the boys.”
A complete reversal on last year’s final game of the season, Bathurst will travel to Orange on Saturday to take on a Tigers outfit supremely confident in coming away with the chocolates after a brilliant year.
The Bushrangers will welcome back gun forward and newly crowned CWAFL best and fairest Tim Hunter, but even he, according to Ewin, won’t make up the 101-point difference suffered in the major semi-final result a fortnight ago.
The Tigers came out on top to the tune of 22.18 (150) to 7.7 (49)
“He’s a big in for them, he won best and fairest, but I don’t think he’s going to make up 19 goals or whatever they needed last game,” Ewin said, adding the Tigers clicked in their major semi-final mauling of the Bushrangers.
“I think we did. The zone was okay, it probably could have done with some work, but we’ll fix that at training and hopefully that’s working on the weekend.”
A preference for the midfield, Ewin says working alongside the likes of Tigers guns Josh Bubnich, Paul Jenkins and Leigh Turner.
“It’s good. They’re a bit more experienced, and I haven’t been here that long. It helps me, which is good,” he added.
First bounce for Saturday’s CWAFL first grade grand final is at 2.30pm.