SONICS SET FOR HISTORIC FINAL

Cooperative RLC MIdlands Premier Grand Final Bristol's 'biggest match yet'
 

Bristol Sonics will attempt to make history this Saturday when they take on league leaders Coventry Bears in the Cooperative Rugby League Conference Midlands Premier Grand FInal.
 
The Sonics travel to Old Coventrians looking to secure their first ever Cooperative RLC Midlands Premier title, in only their second year in the division. Standing in their way will be 2010 Minor Premiers and 2009 champions Coventry Bears, who finished six points clear of second-place Bristol after an impressive league campaign.
 
Bristol head to Coventry full of confidence after edging a tense Qualification Semi-Final with Leicester Storm 16-8 last Saturday. But Sonics' Head Coach Karl Fearnley is under no illusions about the task facing his side this weekend.
 
"The odds are stacked against us, but we like a challenge," the RFL's National Volunteer Awards Coach Of The Year 2010 winner said. "Coventry have not lost at home all season, and most people will expect them to extend that run. Over the course of the season they've been the best team in the league, no doubt, but in a one-off game anything can happen. It's a Grand Final, and funny things happen in finals."
 
Coventry Bears have lost just twice this season, their most recent defeat being at the hands of the Sonics in Bristol last month. Since then, they've not lost a game – though they've had to dig deep on a number of occasions to keep that winning run going.
 
Karl Fearnley said: "Beating Coventry at our place last month proved that on our day, we can beat anyone. What was so impressive about that win, and last Saturday's victory over Leicester, was our defence. If we get that right this Saturday we stand a great chance of pulling off a shock. They're a very good side, but they're not unbeatable."
 
Bristol have a good record in finals, having won two of the three Cooperative RLC Regional finals they've contested – their only loss coming in the 2008 RLC Regional Grand Final in Derby, where they were taught a lesson in knock-out Rugby League by Doncaster's Thorne Moor Moorends Marauders. Saturday's clash will be their first RLC Premier final date – and one to savour according to club captain Dom Swann.
 
Swann, the Cooperative RLC MIdlands Premier's leading points scorer this season, said: "Saturday's Grand Final is the biggest game in the Sonics' history, no doubt. For me, it eclipses our national Grand Final appearance, because that was at a lower level of competition. To win on Saturday would be the biggest thing I've achieved in Rugby League, and I'm sure I can say the same for most of the players. It's a huge, huge game, and one we intend on winning."
 
Sonics Head Coach Karl Fearnley is wrestling with a number of selection headaches, and must decide whether to stick with the 17 who played so impressively against Leicester or reinforce his interchange bench with a couple of fit-again forwards. 
 
Bristol Sonics (from): James Gross, Dan Evans, Ross Bergin, Johan Schoeman, Sam Barker, Dom Swann (captain), Joel Keen, Wes Rogers, Harry Marson, Stafford Lloyd, Joe Coghlan, Neil Evans, Wayne Cochran, Gary Carpenter, Dan Wegrzyn, Joey Atwell, James Pritchard, Ed Tofts, John-Jo Burden