THEY'RE on a high after edging Temora in an elimination thriller, but North Wagga coach Matt Schofield is under no illusions of the daunting task which awaits his team in Saturday's Farrer League preliminary final against The Rock-Yerong Creek.
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The Saints won a high-scoring extra time shootout over Temora 89-88 with both team's quality shooting arsenal dominant throughout.
Temora youngsters Abbey Reinhold and Halle Derrick were on target for the Roos, but a late goal from North Wagga goalshooter Olivia Lang in the dying seconds of extra time proved the difference.
After a missed shot by Temora, a quick transfer from the Saints set up Lang's clincher to send them into the final three.
"It was really hard to stop both attacking ends which is why the score was so high obviously," Schofield said.
"We were up by four at three quarter time before they clawed back, then it was goal-for-goal. Unfortunately for the Temora girl she had a shot which probably would have iced it, but with three passes we got it to Liv for the winner."
The Saints will be heavy underdogs against The Rock-Yerong Creek, who are gunning for a third straight premiership and coming off their first loss of the year against Charles Sturt University.
The battle between Lang, Saints goal attack Abby Byrnes and gun Magpies defenders Sarah O'Leary and Ella Finemore will be pivotal.
"They'll come out firing after the weekend and it will be a big challenge for the girls, hopefully we can make a game of it," he said.
"There's no real standout players in my team and that's the way it's been all year. We don't have one player that's extraordinary and changes the game, every girl on my team work hard and backs each other.
"CSU and The Rock have some really good players, they've got a couple of standouts but we don't have that, we have to work really hard as a team unit to get where we are now."
The Kangaroos finished third after the regular season, and hammered the Saints 70-42 in the penultimate round.
Although they bowed out in straight sets after losing to the Bushsows in the first week of finals, it was a highly successful year for the competition's youngest team.
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