BY ANGUS HAYMAN

I was lucky enough to chat to both coaches ahead of Sunday’s blockbuster Colts Grand Final between Randwick and Gordon at Coogee Oval, with both coaches well aware of what is at stake.

For Randwick coach Jack Harrison, it is about trusting the process that has delivered an almost perfect season.

For Gordon coach Hunter Nicholas, it is about believing they can once again topple the competition’s red-hot favourites.

Randwick have lost just once all season.

That defeat, however, came against Gordon in a remarkable 50-40 thriller earlier in the year.

For Nicholas, that result is proof his side can win on the biggest stage. For Harrison, it is a reminder that Gordon is more than capable of causing an upset if Randwick fails to bring their best.

“We know on the inside and the players within our group that we’ve got the ability to be successful this weekend,” Nicholas told Rugby News.

“There’s no change of belief on anything.”

That belief was on full display last weekend, when Gordon produced one of the great Colts finals comebacks to book their place in the decider.

They gave Eastern Suburbs too much possession and territory early, missed opportunities and found themselves behind but never counted themselves out.

“We always believed, as a group, that if we could just get ourselves into the right areas of the field with the ball, we knew that we could do something quite special,” Nicholas added.

Randwick, meanwhile, arrive having already secured the minor premiership, but Harrison insists that achievement has barely featured in their preparations.

“We’re definitely proud of the minor premiership,” he said.

“I think it’s a really good reward for the boys’ consistency. Obviously, no one plays for minor premierships though.”

Their focus has instead been on ensuring they peak when it matters most.

And while Randwick’s finals campaign has produced two impressive wins, Harrison admits their most recent victory over Warringah was far from perfect.

“They put us under the absolute pump and they played an outstanding game of footy,” he said.

“I was definitely nervous with five minutes to go.”

For Harrison, that pressure may ultimately prove beneficial.

“We probably needed a game like that as well, just to get that pressure put on us and see how we coped with it,” he said.

“It was far from perfect, and we weren’t really happy with the performance as a group. But sometimes you’ve got to.. I think it’s a sign of a good group as well… when you play poorly and you can still get the job done.”

Now, they face the one team that has already figured out how to beat them.

Gordon’s 50-40 victory came back in Round 13, with both sides missing players on representative duty, but Nicholas believes the result still carries plenty of weight.

Harrison, however, is not reading too much into it.

“They’ve been playing with a lot of confidence and playing really, really well,” he said.

“They’ve beaten every single top team in the competition and on their best, they’re well and truly up there.”

That confidence is fuelled by a Gordon side Harrison describes as playing “freestyle footy”, with Mitch Holmes and James Archer identified as two of their most dangerous players.

“They’ve got a couple of their backs in red-hot form at the moment,” Harrison said.

“They’re going to be really important for us to shut down.”

Nicholas agrees that the battle will be won in the detail, but believes set-piece will be just as crucial, particularly given the threat of the Randwick backline once possession starts flowing.

“If you can’t secure your own lineout, it becomes very hard to get the ball in the attacking positions,” Nicholas said.

Harrison has a similar concern from the opposite perspective, calling Gordon’s scrum “probably the best in the competition”.

But if there is one point on which both coaches are completely aligned, it is that individuals alone will not win this premiership.

Harrison knows the stars within his side: Charlie Bird and Luca Cleverly, but insists the entire squad must contribute.

“Individuals don’t win premierships,” he said.

“It’s not even a 15-man effort, it’s a squad effort.”

Nicholas, meanwhile, has his own star power, with Tyler Birnie set to face off against Bird in a mouthwatering battle at flyhalf.

But he is not interested in letting the hype surrounding Randwick’s individuals distract his group from what they can produce.

And perhaps that is why Gordon enters Sunday with nothing to lose and everything to prove.

“We love that everyone is counting us out,” Nicholas said.

“And we can’t wait to put on a show.”

Strong words that will all be put to the test from 2.30pm at Coogee Oval.