FRESH'ET Navy captain Ilitomasi Nawalu is confident his team will retain the Fiji Bitter Escott Shield when they face Army in the final at Albert Park in Suva this afternoon.
Nawalu said while the task would be hard, they had done all the necessary preparations.
Yesterday the captains of Navy and Army met the media in a pre Fiji Bitter Escott Shield meeting.
"We have been training well throughout the week and all players are looking forward to the clash tomorrow," Nawalu said.
"All players have put up their hands wanting to be selected in the final 22-member squad for the final and I believe our coaches will have a very tough time trying to name our team. But I believe the team that will be named to represent Navy will be the best we can rely on to successfully defend the title."
Opposition skipper Napolioni Naulia said they didn't want to make any predictions but would do their talking on the ground.
The Nawaka man said he had a very young team but was confident they would do their best against Navy.
The 2012 Fiji Bitter Escott Shield final starts at 3pm.
The curtain-raiser will be the Farebrother Sullivan trophy warm-up between Suva and Naitasiri.