Mater Dei was resigned to their campaign being over after they fell to their rivals in Wednesday's final, Kildare Catholic College, in their last pool game.

However they still advanced to the decider after previously winless Wagga High stunned defending champions The Riverina Anglican College straight after their match.

It was arguably the biggest Carroll Cup upset for years, and Wallett said anything that transpires in the decider now feels like a bonus.

"Yeah, it does. When we let a game slip against TRAC we probably should have won (we thought it would be tough to qualify)," he said.

To see the Wagga High guys get over the TRAC boys just lifted everyone's mentality a lot, and hopefully we take that into next week."

Kildare will start favourite to secure a first title since 2019 after an unbeaten campaign, including the 34-point win against Mater Dei last week.

Wallett said the clash gave them a timely indication of where Kildare's strengths are, especially their skilful, big-bodied midfield, and what adjustments they could make.

"We didn't shy away from the contest and thought we went about it pretty well with the right attitude and mentality.

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"They've got some big boys in the midfield like Joe Morton. and we can't allow them to have a clear run at the ball. How we set up around the contest and our structure and who we match up on, that's the key thing.

"That's one thing we can take in as underdogs, as long as we play hard and take a positive mindset to the game, regardless of the result we'll feel good after it."

Wallett said trying to shut down Allies representative Nick Madden is a tough prospect, with the 205cm ruck-forward dominant throughout the competition.

"He's a cheat code, some of his efforts last week with his tackling and follow-up stuff (were good)," he said.

"Yeah he's good in the air, but you have to be careful on the ground because he's mopping up everything."

Madden said they're wary of getting too far ahead of themselves after winning all their games comfortably thus far.

"It would be great for the school to have some success. We've got a pretty good team this year and hopefully we can back up last week's performance," he said.

"We're not getting complacent. Mater is always a pretty good challenge. It was last week, so they'll bring their best I'm sure."

The Carroll Cup final is scheduled for 7pm Wednesday at Robertson Oval.

Kildare Catholic College: FB - Arshpreet Singh, Baxter Harmer, Charlie Douglas; HB - Coby Bourke, Ryley Watson, Hayden O'Connell, C - Koko Salim, Joseph Morton (c), Ben Toohey; HF: Jed Beavan, Will Marsh, Will McDermott; F - Campbell Mattingly; Tom Nimmo, Nick Madden; Foll - Tom Nejman, Patrick Ryan, Kye Wright; Int (from) - Lachie Field, Campbell Tuilakeba, Joe Cole, Jackson Connolly, Brad Keotz, Jimmy Guthrie, Will Field, Jake Sullivan, Owen Whalan

Mater Dei Catholic College: B - Harry Hallcroft, Joshua Press, Charlie Schneider; HB - Jed Guthrie, Jamie Mooney, Isaac Molloy, C- Beau Edmunds, Jake Hockley, Harrison Wheeler; HF - Charlie Hounsell, Baxter Wallett, Charlie Stratton; F - Flynn Collins, Henry Cook, Lewis Pulver; Foll - Cody Reynoldson, William Voss, Bailey Hilton; Int - Isaak Jones, Sam Moller, Jack Woodhouse, Charlie Masterson; Emerg - Thomas Ferguson, Ethan Watt

2pm: Currie Cup final - Kildare v TRAC

3.15pm: Open girls - Kildare v Mater Dei

4.45pm: Under 15 girls - Kildare v Mater Dei

6pm: Paul Kelly Cup boys (Interchange wing) - Mater Dei v Sacred Heart

6pm: Paul Kelly Cup girls (scoreboard wing) - Mater Dei v Kooringal

7pm: Carroll Cup grand final: Kildare v Mater Dei

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