The talented schoolboy has been accepted into secondary PE teaching at The University of Canberra next year and hopes to continue his rugby career through the Brumbies pathway.

"Yeah I'm looking to head to Canberra so this could potentially be the last one for a few years," Mooney said.

"The plan is to have a crack at Brumbies for four to six years. If it doesn't work, probably come back home and end up at Tahs and teach here.

"Hopefully I'll be part of the (Brumbies) junior academies and stuff. I've just got to perform really, that's all it comes down to really is performance."

While bigger things could be in store down the track, Mooney has his sights firmly set on Saturday's grand final against Wagga City.

"It hasn't really hit me yet. Training this week, the hype will be all grand final based so I'm not really thinking about a last game," he said.

"I'll just try and keep it as just another game against a team that has had the wood over us this year. We've just got one more crack at them. No one remembers much around round games once finals hit."

The 18-year-old is part of a Waratahs team that is chasing a third successive Southern Inland first grade premiership.

This year, however, Waratahs find themselves in unfamiliar territory as underdogs.

Wagga City have beaten Waratahs on all three occasions during the season but Mooney believes his team is capable of turning things around.

"I think we've got to perform for a longer time period," he said.

"We played a 40-45 minute game when we played them last and were up 15-0. But I think working really hard at training will help us put a performance together for a long enough period of time to really challenge them.

"They've got a very good side this year, they're red hot, there's no real weak links so we've just got to make sure that we perform the best that we can.

"We've shown glimpses of it this year, I just don't think we've put a complete performance together yet and it feels like it's about to happen, there's a feeling as if something could really give for us so we'll throw what we can at them and see which way the result goes."

Mooney is in the unique position of preparing for two grand finals in four days. Before the big dance with Waratahs is an appearance in the schoolboy Australian rules Carroll Cup grand final with Mater Dei Catholic College.

"It's footy, I wouldn't be doing it if I didn't love it," he said.

"My main focus is obviously on Tahs on the Saturday but school footy is the best footy you get to play and leading into our last ever day at high school, being able to have a crack at the Carroll Cup is going to be something special and something that year 12s didn't think we were going to get the chance to do this year.

"We thought it was done. So no more what ifs, we've got the chance and I have no doubt we'll take it with both hands in both games."

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