MATER Dei brought the heat early, but The Riverina Anglican College's class ultimately shone through in a 10.6 (66) to 2.3 (15) win in Wednesday night's Carroll Cup final at Robertson Oval.
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After keeping Mater Dei goalless in a 77-point thrashing last week, it didn't take long for defending champions TRAC to know they were in for a much tougher night at the office.
Mater Dei welcomed back some key players, including midfielders Ed Grigg and Josh Myers and forward Hayden Wooden.
And as promised by coach Nathan Irvine in the lead-up Mater Dei, looking for their first title since 2016 and hoping to avoid a fifth straight finals loss, they brought a heap of intensity.
They hunted their TRAC rivals in packs to nullify their skills, and had some success rebounding quickly from their turnovers.
But TRAC's depth of talent eventually told, with eight unanswered goals in the second half sealing the title as Mater Dei began to run out of legs.
Forward Sam Stening showed his class with three goals for the victors and was rewarded with the Mark Gooden Medal for best on ground, while Tom Holden also finished with three.
Mater Dei kicked the only goal of the first quarter through a fine finish from Harry Wichman to lead by five points at the first change, and could have been up for more had it not been for missed simple shots by Jake Hockley and Flynn Collins.
A poor kick in the second quarter undid a lot of Mater Dei's hard work, allowing Holden to make them pay with a composed finish midway through the term.
Just moments later Stening also slotted a goal to ensure TRAC took a two-point lead into halftime.
TRAC coach Mick Glanvill said it was a key period of the game to help his side calm their nerves.
"When we got a couple of goals and hit the front, it gave the guys some confidence. After that they were pretty good.
"I thought Mater Dei were outstanding early, they brought a lot of pressure and brought that.
"We probably went away from our game style a bit and weren't winning the ball at the stoppages."
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Irvine said they lost their footing in the game once TRAC started to get on top at the coalface.
"Once they started getting their hands on the ball around the middle their foot skills going forward made it too hard for our boys. They battled hard, but they weren't up for it.
"At halftime it could have gone either way, but they got the ball a lot into their forward line (in the second half). They're too good a team to give that many chances to."
Mater Dei captain Harry Wichman was named player of the series.
THE RIVERINA ANGLICAN COLLEGE 0.3 2.4 6.5 10.6 (66) def MATER DEI CATHOLIC COLLEGE 1.2 2.2 2.3 2.3 (15)
Goals: TRAC - Sam Stening 3, Tom Holden 3, Tom Howard 2; Joe Perryman, Dave Treharne; Mater Dei - Harry Wichman, Jake Hockley
Best: TRAC - Sam McNaughton, Billy Glanvill, Luke Fellows, Sam Stening, Tom Holden, Tom Howard; Mater Dei - Jacob Cain, Isaac Molloy, Harry Wichman, Tom Smith, Pat Woods, Will Hurst
