GSFL 2024: Royals’ Nic Ashford and Albany’s Brett Peake bracing for huge rivalry-fuelled grand final

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GSFL 2024: Royals’ Nic Ashford and Albany’s Brett Peake bracing for huge rivalry-fuelled grand final

The 2024 Great Southern Football League grand final is shaping up as one of the biggest in recent memory, as spiteful Retravision Stadium co-tenants Albany and Royals lock horns on Saturday.

Sharks star forward Brett Peake and Lions spearhead Nic Ashford said while their eyes are firmly fixed on lifting the cup, the match will be fuelled by healthy rivalry.

The pair will play key roles at either end of the ground, Peake having booted 65 goals so far this season including four against the Lions back in round four, while Ashford went goalless in the preliminary final but had 14 majors in his previous four games.

Peake drew comparisons of the Retravision Stadium derby to his days at East Fremantle and their heated rivalry with South Fremantle in the WAFL.

“It is rivalry, it’s healthy, I come from the South Fremantle, East Fremantle derby days, so there is a bit of that but it’s healthy for the competition and for the game,” he said.

“We’ve had some really good games this year and over the years, but this one’s the one that counts.

“I think all grand finals are spicy but at the end of the day . . . once that first siren goes, it’s pretty much two hours of hard, intense footy.”

At the ripe age of 41 , Peake has showed no signs of slowing down, winning his third Sean Plaisted trophy in four years and will play a crucial role come bounce-down.

“I’ve never retired from football, and I will never retire. I might walk away from the game but it never enters my thought,” Peake said.

“’I’m a pretty unique character but come five o’clock on Saturday, who knows.

“But as I stand now I still enjoy it.”

Ashford believes the decider will be one of the biggest in the history of the GSFL.

“I think it will be huge and a huge atmosphere and a huge crowd,” he said.

“It’s always heated. Each club knows what they’re going to experience, what we’re going to cop when we’re out there and it’s going to be a hot contest.

“I think it’s going to be probably one of the biggest grand finals that’s happened in the GSFL.”

Having played for the Lions since being drafted as a junior, Ashford is still chasing an elusive premiership and hopes a win can help reward some of the long-serving players at the club.

“Being your junior club, you look up to all the senior boys, like Dave Parker and Brayden Parker and all those boys, and you just idolise what they’ve done,” Ashford said.

“I’ll never be on their level, but you want to be on their level in terms of winning a flag, so that’s my goal.

“But for me, it’s winning for them as well, because a lot of them are probably getting towards the end (of their careers) and just getting the job done for them means as much to me as a flag.”

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