The East Coast Eagles and Kia Toa Tigers booked spots in the final of the premier Otago competition by notching up victories at the Oval on Saturday.
The Eagles defeated the South Pacific Raiders 34-24, and the Tigers earned yet another victory over University.
The final result was 44-30.
The Eagles came out firing early in the first half, scoring four unanswered tries in the first 30 minutes.
Their strong-running forwards, Sililo Laumea and Jordan Fuatavai, sent the Raiders defence scrambling.
Sam Johnstone ensured the strong runs were even more effective by darting out of the ruck to keep the Raiders under pressure to protect their line.
Once the defence had finally contained the threats in the middle, the Eagles spread the ball wide to get over the tryline with ease.
However, David Reedy's Raiders were determined to show that they were up for the contest.
This was evident when they crossed the line to score before halftime, and then added the first two tries early in the second half.
The fightback was largely powered by the efforts of Chrsitian Schaaf and Manassah Kutia, who tucked the ball under the arm and ran hard into the opposition line.
The momentum shifted throughout periods of the second half, as both sides threatened to pull ahead as fulltime approached, but it was the Eagles who had their noses in front as the final whistle sounded.
The Tigers were the hot favourites in the second semifinal against the University Rugby League Club, but they were perhaps surprised to be made to work hard for the full 80 minutes to secure their place in the final.
The Tigers got the scoring under way after forcing the University side to defend its line in repeat sets.
The students defended their line with intensity but eventually succumbed to the Tigers' attacking efforts, allowing them to penetrate the line and put six points on the board.
Unlike previous contests between these sides, University did not allow the Tigers to continue to mount pressure on them, and instead the students struck back with an impressive try of their own through Jalan Wallace.
From this point on, the match was hotly contested.
Both sides traded blows before the whistle went to signal halftime, with the score at 16-14 in the Tigers' favour.
University struggled to maintain its efforts early in the second half, and was caught off guard on multiple occasions when Shane Unahi got his hands on the ball for the Tigers.
Unahi, the Tigers captain, showcased his aggressive running skillset by breaking tackles regularly and crossing for two tries.
Support came in the form of Apii Taia, who also proved more than a handful for the defence, busting his way through defenders to score three tries of his own and put the Tigers well in front.
University threw everything it had at the Tigers in attempts to take the lead, and very nearly did just that, on the back of successive tries in the dying stages of the match.
Finn Langdale stood up for his side, showing great skill, particularly in counterattacking play. He also scored two tries.
His efforts were supported by Jalan Wallace who put the Tigers under immense pressure throughout the game.
However, the Tigers had time on their side, and were able to keep University out despite having lost two players to the sin bin after they let frustration get the better of them.
The game came to a close with the Tigers ahead by 14 points.
