Grab these opportunities

by LES EVERETT

WEST Perth will take an intangible quality into Sunday's WAFL grand final. It's a team spirit fueled by the closeness of the players - it's a quality that took the Falcons to a stirring grand final over the highly fancied South Fremantle in 1999.

In 2002 the feeling has re-emerged and taken the red and blues from losing positions to great victories in their last three games.

East Perth co-captain Ryan Turnbull says there are enormous similarities between the two clubs: "Both teams are passionate, West Perth have tremendous supporters and so do we so there's great feeling on and off the field," he said.

Turnbull says the dynamics of a team change greatly from year to year so there's little chance of players feeling satisfied with past glorious and letting this opportunity slip.

"As a team we're different this year with Brent Tuckey and Judd Lalich bringing in more height and making us play differently," Turnbull said, "But there's also a group of guys about to play in their first grand final and others hoping for a second or third premiership. So we can use the experience of the guys who have been there before and the exuberance of the new ones to push things along."

Turnbull know as well as anyone the importance of taking opportunities when they are presented. He was part of the 1996 team that lost a classic grand final to Claremont by two points.

"That game tore me apart. To play in one of the best games of footy I'd been in and to lose was a gut wrenching experience. I never thought I'd get another opportunity to expel those demons."

Such was the topsy-turvy nature of Turnbull's AFL career he found himself a key member of the West Coast line up in 2000 and so missed out on East Perth's drought breaking premiership. In 2001 he was again on the outer at the Eagles and threw himself into the Royal cause.

"Last year gave me a chance to put 1996 behind me, the contrast was amazing." Turnbull said, "The thing we've all learned is that these opportunities don't come along every day and you've just got to make the most of them."

East Perth co-captain Ryan Turnbull

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