The teenager made 50 in the Blues' 145-run loss but with a place in the Wagga Cricket grand final on the line he's missed out on taking on Kooringal Colts.

With captain Jeremy Rowe, who scored 84 and 74 in his two last innings, back this weekend, Mooney is the unlucky player to miss out.

Rowe admitted it was a tough call.

"He's very unlucky and in his last two first grade innings he's opened the batting on both occasions and has made a 30 and a 50," Rowe said.

"That's pretty good form on its own and then you add to that scenario that he scored a second grade century not too long ago.

"Desperately unlucky is the term and you do feel for guys who just end up just outside of the 11 when you think they could probably find their way in."

However with Blake Harper, Rowe, Joel Robinson and Brayden Ambler all in the competition's top runscorers and Mitch Sykes, Warren Clunes and Alex Jones all playing important roles with the ball, team balance hasn't worked in Mooney's favour.

The Blues have also brought Chase Grintell in.

He's taken 23 wickets in second grade in the last two matches and with Darcy Irvine unavailable, and the Blues looking to find a way to take wickets with Terry Willis still out injured, he's been called up to the top grade.

"It is great to be in the habit of being able to reward form and if you are talking about rewarding form them someone who has taken 23 wickets in his last two games then that's nothing short of sensational form," Rowe said.

After a poor bowling display which saw the Cats finish at 6-344 from 97 overs last week it's an area that really needs to improve if the Blues are to make it through to a fifth grand final in last six years.

Kooringal Colts are yet to beat them this season, including a comfortable five-wicket result last month.

However Rowe is wary of what confidence can do.

"Confidence is an amazing thing in sport and it's not something you can pretend to have," he said. "You either have it or you don't."

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