While it came in the midst of an injury crisis, the Tigers were beaten by 103 points by the Bombers two months back and will need to improve dramatically to test a side that has only lost one game this year.
The weekend's game, to be played on the Bombers' home deck, will be the Tigers' first trip to the finals since 2015 and, while coach Jedd Wright understood the enormity of the challenge in front of his group, he felt it would be in it up to its eyeballs.
"We haven't played finals for four or five years, so there's a real buzz around the group and we can't wait for it really," Wright said.
"Obviously they finished top and they're a quality team. But we're quietly confident if we play our best footy we can take it right up to them.
"We're just really focusing on ourselves, we'll probably go in with a few nerves, but on the back of last year there might be a few for them as well. Finals are just all about playing your best football on the day."
For Waaia, the beginning of the post-season represents the real start of its journey to redemption, having lost last year's preliminary final to Rennie by a single point after going through the regular season undefeated.
The Bombers have been in weaponry form since their sole loss of the season to Strathmerton, winning their next nine games by an average margin of 77 points, with only two wins coming by less than 45 points.
While they possess a stacked forward line, with Charlie Burrows (58 goals this season), Mark Meyland (58) and Matt Brown (23 goals in eight games) their biggest threats, their defence has been suffocating in recent times, allowing just 36 points a game in its past eight outings.
Wright agreed the Bomber forwards would be a right handful, but backed in his all-star midfield group that includes guns like Pat Horsburgh, Sam Poole and John Woodcock, to cut off the supply.
A side that has struggled through bulk injuries all season, Wright was pleased to have selection headaches for the finals with a near-full list at his disposal.
"It took us a little bit to click and I think from that Waaia game we'll have nine or 10 different players in the side," he said.
"We don't really take too much from it, of our top 10 or 12 players we were probably missing about eight. "
The winner heads straight to the preliminary final and benefits from a week off, while the loser will face a tough test against Rennie next weekend in a preliminary final.
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