Hosting Old Students, Opal punched its ticket to the competition's pinnacle with a compelling win that displayed all signs of a side capable of winning the flag, giving the visitors a 6-44 to 3-32 lesson.
Suffering a shaky start, Opal dropped two of its opening three rubbers as Tim Comer's and Ben Ladson’s 6-1 triumph against Jake Sprunt and Michael Telford kept the host's hopes alive.
However, Opal was all across its opponent throughout the women’s doubles to swing the metronome in its favour thanks to a clean sweep from Lyn Gills, Kerry Walker and Heather Thompson.
A strong showing in the final three ties sealed the deal for Opal, with Students failing to match the tempo at the death.
Meeting Opal on its home turf come Saturday is Shepparton North, which swung the axe to comfortably send Central Park packing in the other semi-final.
Rounding out the home and away season in top spot with just a single loss beneath its belt, the firm favourite didn’t disappoint as its major players put on a show for North to finish an 8-50 to 1-21 victor.
With an upset win always a tall order for the underdogs, fortune was few and far between for Central Park with Janelle Pottenger and Andrea Graham clinching the side's only set of the afternoon.
In the lower divisions, Lemnos will line up with McEwen Reserve White in the A1 grand final after the sides tasted semi-final success on Saturday.
Wins for Shepparton North Red and McEwen Reserve Green mean they will feature in the A2 final, while Bunbartha and Shepparton North Gold will take to the court for A3 supremacy come Saturday.
And finally, Central Park and McEwen Reserve Blue do battle for the A4 flag.
