In the course of the Goulburn Bulldogs' 42-12 win over the Queanbeyan Roos at the Workers Arena on Saturday, coach Adam Kyle highlighted the efforts of five-eighth Mitch Cornish as critical to their win.
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"I was super-impressed with Mitchell," Kyle said.
"He showed he was NRL quality today.
"He ran the ball when he needed to run it, he kicked the ball into corners and forced them to run out.
"That really helped us get on the front foot and get our feel in the game."
The Bulldogs came into the semi-final prepared for an aggressive, physical encounter.
Their previous match against the Roos, which took place in Queanbeyan, ended in a four-point loss which Goulburn was eager to avenge.
Saturday's game started with an early try to the Bulldogs, which came off the back of a 40-20 after Cornish cleared the ball with an early kick.
As Goulburn crossed for a second try, key Queanbeyan prop Josh Ayers was sin-binned for a strike on James Aubusson behind the play.
This began a sequence of rapid scoring for Goulburn, which saw the score roll to 32-0 at the break.
"I don't think it was [influential] at all," Kyle said of Ayers' send-off.
"I think at that point in the game we were really in control.
"We'd turned them around, we'd already scored a couple of tries.
"That was one of the most complete 40 minutes from us for the season.
"I think the sending off didn't particularly help us, but it certainly hampered them."
While the Roos bounced back to out-score the Bulldogs in the second half, it was not enough to prevent Goulburn from claiming a crucial 30-point win which guarantees a preliminary finals berth.
Given the choice, most teams would prefer to win the major semi-final and progress directly into the grand final.
However, Kyle said that the extra match might prove beneficial for the team's form should they qualify for the grand final.
"We talked about that about a month ago, if we thought the week off would benefit us," Kyle said.
"Coming off the back of a bye a couple of times, we haven't actually performed that well, so I wasn't that disappointed when we finished third.
"One, to get a home semi in front of our crowd was great.
"Two, that consistent football, so by the time that game comes, we'll be pretty battle-hardened."
The Bulldogs will play in this weekend's preliminary final on Sunday, September 1, from 3pm at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval.
