Despite DELORAINE finishing higher on the ladder, Scottsdale have hosting privileges this weekend but Kangaroos coach Lochy Dornauf is ready to go.

His side took home a 17-point win against the Magpies in their last encounter, with Dornauf looking to repeat their 'grunt' this week.

"They played a good brand of footy last time and so did we and I think it put on a spectacle for the crowd that was there," he said.

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"We are expecting a really tough match, they've got some elite players, they've obviously got a fair few players from other clubs with the top-ups and we know they are going to be competitive."

The Kangaroos - who finished the home-and-away season in second with six wins, a loss and a draw - will regain Matthew O'Donoghue and Shaun McCrossen but may lose the likes of defenders Matthew Mitchell and Cade Triffitt for the preliminary final.

The Magpies on the other hand look to go into the clash unchanged, with captain Joe Robinson excited for the home final after a rollercoaster match against Bridgenorth.

"The boys are up and about, they are all pretty keen," he said.

"They've got a couple of good players so we will have to put a bit of time into them and shut down their outside run.

"We will have to get right up in their faces and let them know we are there."

OLD SCOTCH were made to wait for results to fall their way after a slight slip-up but the Thistles live another day as they face minor premiers Rocherlea.

Mentally dropping the ball last weekend, the playing group identified the lapse and will be looking to return to their game plan according to coach Brayley Coombes.

"We learned a lot from the first two rounds - a loss to Bridgenorth in the first round and then Rocherlea in the second round - since then, we've adopted a unique game style that is quite different to the way the premier leagues like playing their footy," he said.

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"So we've just got to stick to what's really worked for us for the tail-end of the season and hopefully it's enough to ruffle some feathers.

"But they've finished on top of the ladder for a reason and are a really good side."

The Tigers come into their home clash following the bye, which coach Andrew Cox-Goodyer and his side's older bodies were incredibly thankful for.

They will gain former premiership coach Lyndon Stubbs and Cody Weedon to shore up their defensive stocks as they aim to stop Scotch's run.

"They've been the surprise packet of the year and when we played them in the beginning of the year, we were a completely different team," he said.

"They are a pretty good stoppage team but if you take that away from them, they are very susceptible to getting a high score kicked on them."