Waaia punched its ticket emphatically on Saturday afternoon in Deniliquin, leaving no room for a fairytale in the rematch of last year’s grand final with a 113-point demolition of Tungamah.
The Bombers were vastly superior from the outset, booting all five first-quarter goals.
Waaia never looked back en route to a staggering 23.15 (153) to 5.10 (40) victory.
The Bombers had 10 individual goalkickers in the thrashing, led by Connor Brown and Jesse Trower with five and four respectively.
Tungamah’s fortunes changed to an extent after the main break, adding another three goals to its 1.6 first-half score in a competitive third quarter before the stranglehold resumed.
The result marked a return to regular business for a team already on a winning streak.
Waaia coach Mitch Cleeland was jubilant at the result against a side that had hung around late in finals before and expressed confidence in his squad, with the side now one game away from back-to-back flags.
“It was unexpected, but to walk away with that result, we’re just ecstatic,” Cleeland said.
Despite dominating much of the league in 2023, Cleeland made a significant claim about the cohesion on show in Waaia.
“I think, as a group, it was our best team performance of the year,” he said.
“You can’t dangle a much bigger carrot than a premiership, but especially back-to-back, that’s the big goal, and hopefully, we can get that done.”
Meanwhile, Strathmerton grabbed the second opportunity this season to play spoiler for the Bombers after defeating Katunga.
The Bulldogs were not quite as comfortable as their grand final opponents but had enough in the tank to see off Katunga, 12.7 (79) to 7.8 (50).
Cleeland said that even with back-to-back premierships on the table, the players will retain “a little burning desire to get revenge” on a Strathmerton side that cost them the chance at a perfect season.
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