PORTLAND will head into tomorrow night’s Country Basketball League South West Conference men’s grand final against Horsham chasing its first title.

The Coasters finished runners-up to Ararat last season, their best ever finish since joining the CBL in 2010-11.

That grand final experience, coupled with Portland’s two wins against Horsham this season, have Portland well placed for a crack at the title.

Portland’s position in the play-off, which will be held in Horsham, comes as no surprise to coach Rebel Noter.

“When I saw some of the players coming into the side at the start of the season I was very confident of what lay ahead,” Noter said.

“From the first game I was happy with what we had, and once we got a few games in and had a look of the opposition I expected us to be up there competing.”

Portland had not made a CBL grand final until last season where, ultimately, they were outplayed by a better side with Ararat winning 108-71.

Noter said he expected that experience will be a motivating factor tomorrow night.

“I think so, for some of them, not coming away with the win they are really anxious to get this game.

“But there is no extra pressure, it is all about the process that we have done during the year, and if we get that right then we’ll be in the game.”

There is no doubting the Coasters have had an outstanding season with six wins from their 10 matches to finish second on the ladder, behind only Colac Kookas (9-1) who were bundled out in last week’s semi-final by Horsham.

The Coasters were impressive in their 72-64 semi-final win over Warrnambool with a great spread of scoring – Jackson Dunlop, Toby Jennings, Sam Peters and Davey Denboer each posting 10 points or more.

That took the pressure off big man Nathan Hardingham who has become a key target of opposition teams following a terrific season.

Hardingham has posted scores of 22 and 30 in the two wins over Horsham this season, so expect him to be a key player again, while Ash Hill has scored 17 and 13.

Noter believes the Coasters have the offensive firepower to get the job done, but the result will be built on defence.

“Defensively we have to make sure we are communicating well.

“If that breaks down they will get easy baskets, last time they scored some easy lay-ups against us.”

Both times Portland has beaten Horsham it has come down to the last quarter.

In round five, the scores were level at three-quarter time before Portland stormed home with a 25-12 period, while in the final round of the season Portland produced a 36-20 last period to win by three points.

The Coasters won’t want to push their luck a third time, with Noter fully aware the Horsham side is full of talent.

“They have some very good players.

“Mitch Martin can shoot the lights out, Matt Lovel as well – in big games he performs well.

“Their young ones have been doing really well, Cody Bryan has been playing well, and the last three games Max Bryan has impressed.

“It will be a test for our boys, but they are biting at the bit to get there.

“We’re quietly confident, and have been working on things we know we have to improve on to beat Horsham.”

The Coasters will likely go into the match without the experienced Trenton Johnston who missed the semi-final because of an ankle injury.

“It was a huge benefit to have Trenton helping on the bench last week.

“He is able to talk to the younger players when they come off, and that is really important for us.”

With Horsham also hosting its annual junior tournament this weekend, Noter is hoping there will be plenty of Portland supporters in the crowd.

“Hopefully some of our supporters will be able to get tickets, it will be great to have some support with Horsham having their home crowd.”

The match starts at 8pm.