Despite the Tigers blowing a 38 point lead before upstaging Young 44-30, Woo was completely and utterly unconcerned - and more than prepared to look ahead.

"We were up 44-6 and took the foot off," Woo said later.

"Obviously it's not ideal, but we got the result we wanted.

"We took a couple of blokes off and, to Young's credit, they played the full 80 minutes."

On a day when Gundagai jumped to third on the Group Nine table, Woo's carefree attitude was easy to comprehend.

After going into the "big game" in fourth place, the Tigers emerged as the third-ranked team for the finals - and with a shot at Albury in the qualifying final at Greenfield Park on Saturday.

Significantly, Gundagai now also has the benefit of a safety net if beaten, but Woo will not hoping to use it against the Thunder.

"We're stoked to finish third," he said.

"This was a big game for us, but we've got another big game ahead of us."

For a first season coach, Woo has every reason to be delighted with his efforts.

Not only have the Tigers emerged as a danger to Southcity and Albury in the race for the Group Nine title, the team has shown it can be match its physical power with lashings of skill and finesse.

Yesterday, big Vince Brown provided some of the starch and impact, while Damian Willis was absolutely superb out wide.

The veteran centre produced one of his performances of the season as the Tigers tore strips of the disappointing Cherrypickers.

Woo was later thrilled to report the team had come through the game without any injuries.

"We'll have everyone on deck for next Saturday," he said.

As Gundagai celebrated, Young was left to contemplate a testing time ahead.

Dumped from third to fifth by yesterday's result, the Cherrypickers must now play Kangaroos at Equex Centre on Sunday to stay in the fight for the title.

Cootamundra, meantime, massacred Junee 76-6 at Les Boyd Oval yesterday, but it was a sad end to the season for both clubs.