Mater Dei outclassed The Riverina Anglican College, and booked a ticket to the Carroll Cup grand final in a 30-point win at Robertson Oval on Wednesday night.
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Mater Dei was tested, winning 9.10 (64) to 5.4 (34).
After a scrappy first quarter from both teams, Mater Dei scored two goals early in the second, forging a decent lead.
Urgency and teamwork from TRAC backmen kept Mater Dei's forwards at bay but nearly every TRAC clearance was intercepted by a rival halfway down the ground.
At half time, down by 20 points, TRAC's assistant coach encouraged them to keep up the intensity.
"They're finding it hard, you're making them work their butts off," he said.
TRAC's Ed Perryman scored a goal to lift his team's spirits before three quarter time, and John Downes scored in the early moments of the final quarter.
But it was Mater Dei's night.
Coach Nathan Irvine commended the team on their defensive efforts.
“I was happy with our ability to spoil the footy,” he said.
“They were much better at getting the ball on the ground.”
The team all nodded when Irvine said they need to up the ante next week.
“We have to be a whole lot better than that, don’t we?” he said in the sheds.
Goals: (Mater Dei) Steven Hoffman 3, Joe Burton 2, Connor Quade 2, Jackson Casey, Elliot Winter. (TRAC) Fraser Matthews, Matt Hamblin, Liam Delahunty, Ed Perryman, John Downes.
Best: (Mater Dei) Hoffman, Jake Hodge, Jack Carey, Rhys Mooney, Winter, Mitch Foster. (TRAC) Will de Jong, Luke Nicholas, Delahunty, Perryman, Downes.
Later in the night, Kildare downed Kooringal 20.8 (120) to 1.3 (9).
It has been a tough run for Kooringal this year, recording three comprehensive losses from three games.
Kooringal played well in patches on Wednesday – limited Kildare to four goals in the first and third quarter and ended on a high with a final-quarter goal by Hugh Schmetzer.
Goals: (Kildare) Riley Corbett 8, Tom Anderson 3, Xavier Lyons 2, Brad Ashcroft 2, Angus Cumming, Shaun Driscoll, Jacob Mascini, Mitch Bloomfield, Nick Anderson (Kooringal) Schmetzer
Best: (Kildare) Lewis Gooden, Jack Sase, Tom Anderson, Corbett, Josh Buchanan, Liam Nilsen (Kooringal) Jackson Hughes, George Kendall, Bailey Lloyd, Jack Moorby, Caleb Wild, Schmetzer
In the women's tournament early in the afternoon, Wagga High defeated Mater Dei 3.9 (27) to 2.2 (14) and Kildare defeated Kooringal 4.8 (42) 1.0 (6).
Wagga High will confront Kildare in the grand final on Monday at 1.30pm.