WAGGA Tigers extracted revenge for its shock opening round loss to Osborne by romping to a 43-point victory at Osborne on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After being competitive for a half, the Ostriches fell away badly with the home side being without a bench from midway through the third quarter.
Zach Bye, Matt Rava and Connor Willis finished on the injury list while Elliott Powell played out the game under duress.
Osborne coach Joel Mackie, who was sent off during the second term, said he was disappointed to finish the season with a loss but remained proud of the side's effort.
"It sort of reflected our entire season," Mackie said.
"We were in the game for a long time but couldn't get the job done.
"The boys have been super though and I thought we showed today that we aren't far off matching arguably the best side in the competition.
"We'll take a lot out of the season."
Wagga Tigers and Osborne went toe-to-toe in the opening term with Mackie leveling the scores at quarter-time with a shot after the siren.
It was obvious from the outset Tigers' star Brayden O'Hara was going to have to earn every possession with Osborne tagger Isaac McDonnell assigned the task of shutting him down.
Wagga Tigers extended their lead to 18 points during the second term before Osborne clawed its way back into the contest through Duncan McMaster, Connor Galvin, Powell and Ed Perryman.
The visitors had the answers however with Shaun Campbell at his brutal best in the centre, Jake Gaynor covering plenty of ground and Shaun Driscoll's pace creating havoc in the warm conditions.
Osborne is the only side to beat Tigers this year, with Wagga stringing together five straight wins since to enter next weekend's clash with Leeton-Whitton in strong shape.
"We spoke about the way they played last time and they played like that today, but clearly our preparation was better for this game now we've had a few under our belt," coach Troy Maiden said.
Wagga Tigers kicked the final four goals of the match.