Wanderers set up a second semi-final bout with Nightcliff after their ‘A’ side eclipses St Mary’s

WANDERERS turned around a 79-point loss to St Mary’s a week ago with a new side and a fierce desire to win the qualifying final.

St Mary's coach Anthony Vallejo wants more defensive smarts from his players. Picture: GLENN CAMPBELL

SHANNON Motlop says quality, not a change in attitude or a miracle turnaround, engineered Wanderers’ qualifying final win over St Mary’s.

The Eagles led St Mary’s all night before recording a 20-point win, their first finals triumph since beating Nightcliff in the 2017 preliminary final.

It also avenged a 79-point loss to their great rivals in the last home-and-away round.

“Clearly we didn’t have our best side last week and on top of that the boys turned up to play this time,” Motlop told the NT News.

“You’ve got to be in the right frame of mind and perform on the night, particularly when we knew all along we had the team to beat St Mary’s.”

Utility Josh Cubillo missed the last half of Saturday night’s game with a sore knee, but Motlop believes it is bruising, rather than soft tissue damage.

“I think Josh will be OK and the same with Braedon McLean’s collision with an oncoming Shaun Edwards. It was a classic case of both players going for the ball from what I saw,” the Wanderers mentor said.

Motlop knows his players will have to find an extra gear to beat defending premiers Nightcliff in Saturday night’s grand-final qualifier.

“It is a big task, but our playing group has got tremendous belief and we’re definitely not afraid of them,” Motlop said.

“In fact, we probably should have won both games against Nightcliff when we let them go late after thinking we had them.”

Motlop’s St Mary’s rival Anthony Vallejo said his players gave midfield runners like Shaun Mannagh and Dane McFarlane far too much freedom.

“When you look at the four good players they had in there, our on-ballers weren’t accountable enough,” Vallejo said.

“With those players getting hold of the ball and the delivery they gave (Brett) Eddy with no real pressure on, meant no one could have stopped him.

“At the other end of the ground the story has been the same for us through the season. We get a lot of forward entries – in this case 26 scoring shots to 21 – but haven’t been able to make the most of our opportunities.”

Defender Jack Long’s season is in doubt after suffering a hamstring injury, leaving the door open for skipper Shannon Rioli’s return from hamstring tightness.