Final wont stop friendly banter

Competing against each other in the grand final of the Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby competition on Saturday won't stop the banter between Gladstone halfback James Bruce and Marist midfield back Nathan Couch.
Good friends off the paddock, Bruce and Couch have a habit of exchanging a few pleasantries while going about their business on it and they can't see that changing in the championship decider.
"Chopper (Couch) likes to remind me how the game is going and I don't mind chipping back & we usually have quite a bit to say to each other," Bruce said.
To which Couch adds: "He (Bruce) is only a little guy and he's easy to pick on, I try to help him out as much as I can."
Couch can claim to have tasted success on more occasions than Bruce in grand finals.
He was part of the Marist sides which won the senior first division competition three years running, in 1997, 1998 and 1999, while Bruce can reflect on just the one title win, captaining Gladstone to victory in the big one in 2001.
Ask both players the recipe for grand final glory and they express similar sentiments.
Bruce said it was all about handling the pressure of the occasion and trusting in your own game plan while Couch sees it important that the players treat it no differently than any other game.
"You go out there and do your best and you just hope that's good enough to win," he said.
Not surprisingly, the two long-time Wairarapa-Bush representatives have different views when it comes to predicting the 2007 senior first division champions.
Bruce is adamant Gladstone have the team to take the spoils.
He was delighted with the way they lifted their effort in the second half to overcome Eketahuna in the semis, especially with the soft ground conditions always likely to assist Eketahuna with their bigger but less mobile pack.
"We were hoping for firm ground so we could try and run their bigger fellows around a bit so it was good to pull off a win in conditions we didn't want, it showed we could adapt if we had to."
Bruce doesn't try to hide his respect for Marist though, saying they had possible match winners at both back and forward.
"Everybody talks about how about how strong their backs but you can't write off their forwards either, they are strong too," he said.
"It should be a close one but, yes, we definitely can win."
Couch considers Marist have progressed well enough over the season to give themselves every chance of beating Gladstone on Saturday.
"We're probably capable of better than we have played but we have kept improving and that's got to be a good sign" he said.
"We know it won't be easy but we can do it."
Couch sees team unity as Gladstone's main attribute, not only on the paddock but off it as well. "They are a very tight-knit team and sides like that are always hard to beat, they have a lot of trust in each other and it shows."