The minor premiers went on to seal a comfortable 15.8 (98) to 5.16 (46) victory at Windsor Park to book its spot there in the NTFA division one grand final in a fortnight.

The Tigers stunningly kicked nine goals to just nine behinds for a 46-point first-half lead to all but secure the win with a half of football left.

“No, I didn’t expect that at all,” Rocherlea coach Lyndon Stubbs admitted.

“But I knew if we won the contested footy that took their main focus out of the game. That’s probably where we got them early.”

Any thought the game would be a dress rehearsal for the title decider in a fortnight was dismissed quickly.

Bracknell blasted away at the goals feverishly and had scored eight behinds inside the first 25 minutes.

“Obviously, we were very disappointed we didn’t get the win first,” Bracknell coach Gary Shipton said. 

“They came out to play and we were probably a bit flat to start with. We had plenty shots of goals in the first quarter and not being able to convert hurts as well.”

In contrast, Rocherlea were moving the ball out of the centre square into the forward 50 more efficiently and with systematic purpose.

Tigers full forward Josh Holton was a focal point to score five goals – four in the first half – while livewire Zane Brown, midfielder Andrew Cox-Goodyer and forward Ben Elmer created dangerous space on Windsor Park’s wide expanses.

The Tigers scored four goals in the first quarter and another five unanswered in the second, only scoring their first behind during time-on in the half. 

“Every time they went forward, they looked more dangerous,” Shipton said of his rivals. 

But when the Redlegs scored 50 seconds after the long break, a new spark came across the side.

Rocherlea shut down any switch of dominance over the next ten minutes before kicking two of their own in the next 90 seconds.

Bracknell managed to bag five second-half goals on the back of talented forward Richard Howe getting loose and snaring three to almost match this year’s premiership fancies from there on.

Stubbs admitted several of his Tigers were left wounded and couldn’t stem the flow.

“They ran the game out pretty well, so it might be interesting next time,” he said.

But his Redlegs counterpart was still far from happy with the overall effort.

“You’re not going to win games when only three or four players are carrying the side,” Shipton said.

“In a final, we need 22 contributors.”