Hannah steps up for injured sister
The Carina League Club Tigers have dipped into their training partner pool for the 2024 Ruby Series grand final to cover for an injured Georgie Johnson – and her replacement couldn’t be any closer to home.
Johnson suffered a complete tear of her left ACL in the semi-final two weeks ago and was immediately ruled out of the big dance against Gold Coast Titans.
Tigers head coach Joeanne Hope said her replacement was a no-brainer: older sister Hannah.
“We’ve kept it in the family,” she said. “We’ve used all our training partners for the season now, including Hannah, so we’re excited for her and she’s preparing well for it with us.”
While a grand final can be daunting on its own, Johnson’s late call-up duties will also mark her Ruby Series debut as the Tigers look to secure their fifth title in six seasons.
The only year the side haven’t walked away as premiers, 2021, they instead settled for runners up.
Hope is confident 2024 will resemble the familiar orange-and-black reign.
“We’ve got a really good, strong belief system and I think we’ve probably got one of the best teams in the competition in terms of mental toughness,” she said.
“That’s enabled us to stay on top for the whole season … we just have to make sure that we not only maintain that, but go a little bit further, and ensure that we put out our best.”
It won’t be easy.
The Titans are hungry for redemption after going down in last year’s decider 48-37.
“I guess we’re expecting a really strong Titans line up to come at us and we want to be prepared for that,” Hope said.
“Based on our performance throughout the season, I would say that we’re going to come out on top of them, and we’ve got every intention to do so.”
Kommunitytv will also be broadcasting live the M-league grand final clash between Sparks and Ignire on Sunday from 2pm.