NURIOOTPA came from behind to defeat South Gawler by one point in Saturday’s thrilling second semi-final, and book its spot in the Barossa, Light & Gawler under 17 football decider.

The Lions stunned the Tigers initially, opening up a three-goal lead at quarter-time.

Michael DeJonge and Cody Gilchrist were on fire, and South looked an unbeatable force.

However, Nuri soon found its way into the contest with its relentless running and pressure on the ball carrier, and turned that deficit into a seven-point lead by halftime.

Jack Henke was terrific, as was Kai Rosenzweig, as the Tigers held the Lions to just one point, while kicking four goals themselves.

The two sides couldn’t be split from then on, with South wasting many opportunities in front of goal in the third quarter.

The Lions cut the margin to two points at three-quarter-time, but had kicked 1.5 in doing so to the Tigers’ sole goal.

The missed chances would soon come back to bite South, as its 3.1 to three goals in the final quarter wasn’t enough to beat the Tigers.

Henke slotted three goals for Nuri, while Max Graetz and Harry van der Wijngaart kicked two goals apiece.

For South, DeJonge had three, while Gilchrist and Jaden Gurney kicked two majors each.

Magpies advance Tanunda will take on South Gawler for a spot in the grand final after defeating Willaston by 11 points on Sunday in the first semi-final.

The Magpies and Donnybrooks couldn’t be split in the first stanza, with the two sides locked away at 1.2 apiece.

However, the Pies soon got control of the game through talented duo Liam Ellis and Isaac Feltus, and took a seven-point lead into halftime.

The Donnybrooks, led by Corey Smith and Deakin Davis, then clawed back into the contest to trail by just one point at the final break.

Despite their best efforts, the Pies ran riot in the last quarter, kicking 2.3 to the Donnys’ five behinds.

Luca Whitelum and Isaac Feltus both kicked two goals for Tanunda, while there were only individual goal-kickers for the defeated Donnybrooks.