In a see-sawing contest that saw five goals scored, Wauchope defeated Port City Piranhas 3-2 to earn another shot at Tacking Point Thunder Omni.

Piranhas coach Angela van Zeeland was proud of her team’s performance although disappointed they fell just short of the big dance.

“The game to and froed; it wasn’t like a 3-0 loss and we came back, it was 2-all until they got a penalty stroke, but they were the better team across the game,” she said.

“The scores alternated and there were opportunities until the last 10 or 15 minutes.”

Warriors duo Brazel and Jessie Galloway were constant threats for the Piranhas defence.

“They were definitely players that caused us a little bit of havoc for us,” van Zeeland said.

Sarah Storrier and Danielle Blenkhorn tried to provide the x-factor for Port City, but ultimately it was the Warriors class and experience that shone through.

“(Those two) stood out in their areas, because Sarah is a striker and Danielle is a midfielder or defender,” van Zeeland said.

“We probably need a little bit more experience at that high level across more players because (Wauchope) have more experience across the park.”

Van Zeeland said her team’s third-place finish exceeded the expectations they had set at the start of the year.

She admitted the two best teams in the competition would play in the grand final.

“My expectations weren’t to go through any further than (Saturday),” she said.

“We were probably pleased to be in the top three given the two top teams are the two best teams in the competition and should be in the grand final.”