The Purples booked their place in the September 19 decider with a 65-47 triumph at Rumbalara Recreation Reserve on Saturday, with star shooter Jane Cook delivering another enormous performance under the post.
Cook poured in 55 of Nathalia’s 65 goals as the minor premier took control early and never relinquished its advantage.
It continues a superb campaign for Nathalia, which finished the home-and-away season with a 17-1 record before earning the right to face second-placed Mulwala for the first ticket into the grand final.
It was the Lions who struck first through Stephanie Hammond, but Cook quickly took command at the opposite end.
The Nathalia shooter scored nine of her side’s first 10 goals, with Stephanie Gorrie adding the other as the Purples surged clear.
By quarter-time, they had established a commanding 21-9 advantage, immediately putting Mulwala under pressure to chase the contest.
The Lions responded in the second term and managed 13 goals to Nathalia’s 16, with Hammond and Stephanie Ferguson sharing the shooting duties.
But there was little slowing Cook.
The experienced goaler continued to dominate the scoring for Nathalia as the Purples extended their advantage to 37-22 by half-time.
Mulwala needed a significant shift after the main break, but Nathalia continued to control proceedings.
Cook again did the bulk of the damage, while Emmalea Wishart also entered the shooting circle and contributed to the scoreboard.
The Purples won the third quarter 16-10 to stretch their advantage to 21 goals at the final change, leading 53-32 and putting one foot firmly in the grand final.
Mulwala produced its best scoring quarter of the afternoon in the fourth, piling on 15 goals as Hammond and Ferguson continued to battle away.
But the Lions had been left with too much ground to make up.
Nathalia added another 12 goals of its own to comfortably see out the contest, with Wishart scoring the final two goals to seal the 65-47 victory.
Cook finished with a remarkable 55 goals, accounting for all but 10 of Nathalia’s total. Gorrie added six and Wishart four.
At the other end, Hammond led Mulwala with 29 goals and Ferguson contributed 18.
Most importantly, Nathalia is now through to the biggest game of the season, where it will face the winner of the September 12 preliminary final between Mulwala and Tongala.
Tongala stands just one step from the showpiece following a 55-39 victory over Rumbalara in the semi-final.
Milly Brock was a key performer in that winner-takes-all battle, netting 27 goals, while teammate Chicquita Vick also produced a memorable performance by tallying up 24 goals of her own.
That came after Rumba started the brighter of the two sides, leading after the first period, before surrendered their advantage in the second quarter and failing to recover parity in the clash.
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