Over many years, Brendan Rixon has stared down pressure in big-match settings and thrived.
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Now he wants his North Tamworth teammates to do the same, when the Redbacks meet City United in the Twenty20 final at No 1 Oval on Friday night.
At stake is not only the Twenty20 title, but the chance for both sides to end a long trophy drought. Norths' last trophy triumph came in 2014-15, when they claimed the one-day final.
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Their previous appearance in a final was in last season's one-day decider, in which Old Boys defended 56 after routing Norths for 44 at No 1 Oval.
At the same ground on Friday night, the Redbacks will again be confronted with big-match pressure.
Rixon, the leading run-scorer this season, said it was vital that he and his teammates stayed "relaxed" and "enjoyed" the occasion.
"We'll be saying that to the guys who haven't played finals cricket before," he said, adding that that was how he would approach the game, "and that's the way, hopefully, our team will approach it".
"It's a good opportunity, and that's the way we've got to look at it," he said.
The Redback are on a three-game winning streak, while City United's only loss of the season was in the one-day final against Old Boys in November.
Asked what he liked most about Norths, Rixon replied: "[They're] just a good bunch of fellas ... [who] get on really well. And we've got pretty good depth."
He added: "Adam Greentree's doing a great job leading the team.
"We've got a great committee and a great club atmosphere at the moment, so it's really good."
The match is slated to start at 8.30pm, at the conclusion of the third-grade final.
