The Hawks' fighting 9.9 (63) to 7.6 (48) win against minor premiers North Wagga in the second semi-final at Robertson Oval on Saturday completed four straight victories, including a hat-trick of wins against those teams that sat above them in early August.

Orchestrated by midfielder Chris Gordon, delivered by forward Chris Ladhams (four goals) and iced by captain Ben Absolum (two last-quarter goals), the 15-point win catapulted them into their first grand final since the 2016 premiership.

"It's great. It was a tough day today but it's finals footy and I couldn't be happier with our boys. They stood strong when the going got tough to grind out a win so I'm very happy," EWK coach Matt Hard said.

"If you told me four weeks ago we'd be the first team into the grand final, I would've taken it. But I would've been surprised.

"But after the last four weeks and seeing what the boys are doing, I'm very happy for them and looking forward to two weeks' time."

As they did against Marrar last week, the Hawks had the resolve to dig themselves out of some early strife - 15 points down late in the first quarter - and the pressure and intensity to keep the Saints from opening up again, while getting the game on their terms for long enough to take control.

North Wagga had weathered an early storm for the first 10 minutes and then started to find open space, and targets up forward to add the next six scoring shots, unanswered.

But three misses were costly, and a horror few minutes either side of quarter-time showed why.

A sublime Nick Hull tap to a flying Gordon out of the centre saw Chris Ladhams grab his first mark and goal just before quarter-time.

By the time Ladhams claimed his second just after the first break, North's lead was cut to three and their bench down to two with Corey Watt off clutching his hamstring.

Saints hung on to the lead for most of the second quarter but the Hawks finished with momentum and hit the front by two points after a clever Gordon goal from 48 metres out and a couple of missed opportunities.

It was a lead EWK refused to relinquish, although their margin was kept to between two points and eight points for the whole third term.

But they had Saints chasing early in the last when Ladhams (4.2) found his final goal with a delightfully delicate kick off his left from the left-hand pocket.

"Chris up front was on today," Hard said of the star forward's critical role on his return to the team.

And Absolum twice took his side beyond a two-goal lead in the final term with a mark, a goal and a fist raised in furious delight to first help his side put one foot, then both, into the grand final.

Veteran forward Chris Jackson had limited time after a lower leg injury but Gordon and Absolum spending time deep forward proved perfect foils for Ladhams.

"We're making sure we mix up our forwards. We're not one dimensional. A lot of clubs probably think we are one dimensional but I think that proved that we're not, so it's good," Hard said.

Ethan Andrews played a big game across half-back with pressure and drive, and was instrumental in setting the tone EWK needed, along with Bryce McPherson, while Hull dominated the ruck contests to provide a huge advantage in the middle.

But Hard was pleased in the team performance, from young backmen Max Tiernan and Hayden Nelson, to full-back Trent Garner who marshalled their defence and helped keep the Saints to just one goal a quarter after the first break.

It capped a fine day for the Hawks, who progressed to the grand final in all three grades with wins in reserve grade (also against North Wagga) and the Under 17.5s (against Marrar).

Saints co-captain Cayden Winter did plenty to try to lift his team back into the game and Ben Alexander the same off half-back. Midfielder Tom Bennetts kicked two important first quarter goals and worked hard while Guy Ward was both busy and dangerous in the first half. But as a team they couldn't get the clean footy that they needed and will now await the winner of the Temora-Marrar semi-final.

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