Portland's under 18.5s gearing up for grand final battle against South Warrnambool

Marshall's side lost teammate Luke Driscoll to a broken leg in the first term of its preliminary final triumph over Camperdown last week.

It has them motivated to go one further.

Portland is building up to battle junior powerhouse South Warrnambool in Saturday's decider - with Driscoll set to watch from the sidelines.

"He's gutted he can't play. The boys know how much it means to him though," Marshall said.

"The boys will go in and do everything they can to get him the win."

Driscoll fractured his tibia and fibula in the incident. Surgeons inserted a 375 millimetre rod from his knee to his ankle on Saturday night to support recovery.

Marshall revealed the group was brimming with hunger for a premiership.

"I've played in a couple of grand finals but I've missed out every time," he said.

"I'm really hungry for it this year. I've been thinking about it since pre-season.

"The whole town has been really supportive of us. We've had people around the club and teachers and school asking about it and I just hope we can bring it home for the town."

Marshall, the younger brother of St Kilda ruckman Rowan, said Portland's willingness to blood under 18.5 talent into its senior ranks boded well for the future.

"We've had lots of players who have gone up and played in the seniors," the 18-year-old said.

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"Tanner Lovell has played a lot of seniors and he's one who has fitted in well with the boys. We're all mates which helps.

"Getting those boys back, they help to bring a bit of leadership back to the team."

Tigers coach Tony Jackson said clean use of the ball was a key focus leading into the decider.

"We're pretty proud of the season we've had. We've only lost three games," Jackson said.

"We've put ourselves in a pretty good position come finals and our form has continued. We still have a bit to hone in on.

"We need to make sure we're not giving the ball back via turnovers. We want to get a score on the board and really make use of the football.

"We want to play a nice, fit brand of football that is aesthetically pleasing to watch."

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