Jacob Condello's men took the scenic route, and were at risk of relinquishing their lead in the dying stages as they gave the black and golds countless chances to break the goal-line defence.

But, the away side was constantly a pass or two short of scoring that match-winning try, allowing the Warriors to escape with the dub.

Waiting for the brothers is perennial powerhouse and competition minor premiers CSU, the students featuring in a fifth consecutive decider, opting to take the showdown to Diggings Oval.

A relieved Condello fronted the media outside the Wade Park dressing sheds, knowing his side was inches away from squandering a second-half lead.

"Definitely did it the hard way," he said.

"For the most part of the game we probably didn't deserve to win it. But, that second half, our heart showed through and yeah, that's what got us there."

"But, I'm pretty elated. I'm proud of the guys."

United's coaching staff would have broken Guinness World on how many times the word 'discipline' is used when trying to describe what this roster still does wrong.

Condello turned to the same narrative.

"That's the one area that still needs fixing," he said.

"It's hard to coach sides out of that. We got a roll on, our boys get excited and you want to make that extra pass. If we can improve that aspect of our game, I guarantee we win it."

The win was made more difficult when halfback Jake Kelly suffered a suspected broken ankle, paving the way for Matty Fuller to play halfback, and Ben French to slot back into fullback.

The Warriors also had a player sent to the sin-bin with 15 minutes to go.

When times get tough, you look to your best players to turn things around, and that's what Condello saw from Dion Jones today as the five-eighth was everywhere he needed to be.

"He's a big, strong boy," he said.

"We had him in the centres at the start of the year but we put him back to five-eighth where he belongs. He gets the ball when he wants it.

"He's a big boy but he can ball play. He feels more comfortable in five-eight, he's a strike player."

He isn't thinking too much about a grand-final game-plan yet, but Condello understands what makes the Mungoes so hard to beat.

"It's no secret that CSU just keep coming," he said.

"They're young and they're fit. They work together and they work for each other which makes them a dangerous team.

"It's not so much so much the other team we need to worry about, we need to worry about ourselves. We beat ourselves the majority of the time. When we switch on, it's beautiful."