A few positional changes at halftime, including some big-bodied midfielders in the centre, and a will to win sparked the second-half performance, which finished with an unexpected highlight.
Matt Kennedy, who had not kicked a goal all year, found himself in the goal square, where his first goal for the year sealed the win.
McQueen said Thunder had been winning the outside game in the first half, which was preventing the Tigers from providing opportunities to their forwards.
“That was the message at halftime, to try and make sure that we don’t get sucked into contest and we can actually own the outside and I feel like we got some good looks going forward when we did that,” he said.
McQueen himself, who has spent much of this season in the forward line, moved into the centre, having an immediate impact alongside Driscoll and Lucas Dahlenburg.
Driscoll’s silky skills and attack on the contest is always a highlight, but from the start of the game on Sunday, he crashed and bashed through packs to win the footy, breaking away to kick the ball forward.
Despite an injury-riddled year where he played only nine games, Driscoll told 3WM’s Local Football Live that finals were ‘a clean slate’.
“When finals start, for me, that’s when footy starts,” he said.
Down 27-54 at halftime, and struggling to hit the front despite winning the ball in the second half, Driscoll said he had thought a loss was on the cards.
“But the way every single bloke out there just went contest after contest and if we kicked a point, they were just like... ‘We need to kick another goal. We need to win the game’,” he said.
“When you have 21 blokes out there doing that, you’re generally going to get the result.”
Driscoll said he revelled in returning to play footy at his home club because of the community.
“Playing at the higher level, I’ve never felt the connection with the blokes next to you. They’re always striving for something else,” he said.
“When you come back to your hometown, all the supporters and playing footy with your best mates, there’s nothing that gets me up more for a game of footy.”
But it is not all good news for Nhill, with Josh Ryan – who kicked three goals on Sunday – injuring his hamstring, potentially missing this week’s final at Dimboola on Sunday.
For the Thunder, key midfielders Jai Kennealy and Bailey Edwards, along with Matty Lloyd, who booted six goals, were the best.
In the qualifying final at Beulah, Saints stormed home to a 109-92 win despite the Warriors, led by Josh Fowkes and Tom Eckel, challenging strongly in the final quarter.
The Saints led at every change, 32-14 at quarter-time, 63-39 at the main break and then 80-59 before a tense last term, where Stawell kicked 5.3 to the Saints’ 4.6.
Returning from a hamstring injury, Rory Taggert was best with six goals, while Max Bryan and Will Tickner were impressive for the Saints.
The win progresses the Saints through to a second semi-final against ladder leaders Ararat, who are aiming for their fourth consecutive premiership.
The winner of that match, at Stawell on Saturday, will progress directly to the grand final, while the loser will play the winner of Nhill versus Stawell in a preliminary final at Minyip the following weekend.
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