An inspired performance from Junee fullback Daniel Foley has earned the Diesels at place in the Group Nine preliminary final.
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Foley scored twice in the second half to sink Albury 24-6 at Loftus Oval on Saturday.
Two pieces of brilliance ended any hopes of a Thunder resurgence as Junee kept its hopes of winning the premiership for the first time in 30 years alive.
The clash of the two fullbacks, Ben Jeffery and Foley, was one of the big match-ups, but it was the Junee speedster who delivered.
He left Jeffery flatfooted after making a break from halfway a little in and away saw him score in the corner to hand Junee a 16-0 lead with 28 minutes to play.
Foley then iced the win nine minutes later when he scored off a scrum move from Cameron Hands.
Jeffery found his way over the for a consolation try in his last game for the Thunder with six minutes remaining, but it was too little too late.
Foley is one of the leading contenders for the Weissel Medal this season and stand-in skipper Trent Schubach thought his efforts sparked the team after sustaining plenty of pressure from Albury.
“He is a freak,” Schubach.
“He is one of a kind and just keeps pulling it out every week.
“He is a match winner and you need one of them in your team.”
Both teams had plenty of chances to score early in the first half but couldn’t string it all together before the Diesels broke through.
The scored twice off the back of penalties to take a 12-0 lead into half-time.
Pat Sweeney was able to break the deadlock after 33 minutes before Tom Brandon scored with 36 seconds left on the clock to hand his team a solid advantage.
The two late tries gave the Diesels plenty of momentum heading into the second stanza before they found themselves camped on their own line.
The Thunder forced three repeat sets early in the half but couldn’t find a way through.
Schubach was thrilled with the defensive effort the team put in.
He said it was the focus coming into the clash and was pleased by how his team responded following a poor second half showing against Gundagai last week.
“The boys showed up for each other this week and it seemed to show on the field,” Schubach said.
“We defended for most of that second half and we still held them out until the last five minutes.
“It is a big effort from the boys and hopefully we can do it again next week.”
Junee is now one win away from making their second grand final appearance in as many years.
