Culburra have were favourites to win after beating Manyana 5-1 the week before, but were outplayed on the day by a more enthusiastic Manyana side.

The game started in windy conditions and Manyana had the advantage of the wind for the first half, which allowed them to keep Culburra on the back foot from the kick-off.

 Manyana did most of the attacking, with Culburra relying on counter attacks.

Both teams had chances to score with the ever dangerous Cory Ryan going close midway through the half after some strong individual play, but his shot narrowly missed. 

The best chance for Manyana came the way of Sam Swan when he had a one on one opportunity with the Culburra keeper shortly afterwards, but his shot was well saved.

There were other chances for both teams which were not taken and the game looked like going to half-time scoreless. 

But on the verge of the interval Manyana received a free kick near half way. 

Tim Dixon put the ball into the danger area and Jackson Daley pounced on a loose ball to beat the keeper and send Manyana to the break with a 1-nil lead.

Culburra regrouped at half-time and the runaway minor premiers came out in the second half in a more attacking frame of mind.  

After five minutes of constant pressure Corey Ryan scored a well taken individual goal when Manyana failed to clear the ball after a couple of attempts. 

The Culburra goal appeared to lift the Manyana team, and with their defence standing firm, they withstood the Culburra pressure without any real further danger and gradually started to get on top. 

Twenty minutes into the second half Billy Zappas laid on a slick pass to Rob Barrett, whose shot was well saved by the Culburra keeper.

But Billy was then on hand to smash the ball into the net to restore Manyana’s lead, much to the delight of their vocal supporters.

Culburra were stunned 10 minutes later when super sub Sam Walklate picked up a loose ball on the edge of the penalty box after Jackson Daley was brought down. 

The referee to his credit played the advantage and Sam continued on his run, cutting onto his left foot and beat the keeper to make it 3-1.

Culburra had a couple of half chances late in the game but never really threatened the Manyana goal. 

Manyana also had their chances to score but shot wide on a couple of occasions.

In the end it was a comfortable win for Manyana, who now have a two week break before the grand final on the Saturday, September 13. 

Culburra will play the winners of the minor semi-final, Shoalhaven United, next week.

Manyana coach Matt Tooley said he was pleased with the intensity shown by his players today which kept the Culburra team under constant pressure all game, giving them no time on the ball. 

“The hard part for me now is to make sure that the boys realise that the job is only half done and that they will need to lift even further if they want to repeat their 2011 grand final heroics,” he said.

“We are expecting a large crowd to turn out on grand final day to support the boys.”