Wagga City forward Pita Herangi has timed his return to perfection

Herangi made a timely return from injury into the starting team in Wagga City's major semi-final win over Waratahs and hopes to be better for the run heading into the the decider at Conolly Rugby Complex.

The 25-year-old tore his medial crucial ligament (MCL) and underwent knee surgery after round one but made it back in time to play a part in Wagga City's quest for back-to-back SIRU titles.

The Auckland native proved he is a big game performer with a man of the match display in Wagga City's 2021 grand final win and is now looking forward to a chance to capture another premiership with the Boiled Lollies.

"Hopefully I can do my best. We'll see come Saturday and see what happens then but I hope so," Herangi said.

"It's been a bit of a rough year (with injuries) but it's not too bad. They pushed me a bit on (my knee rehab) so I could come back at the end of the year.

"The fitness took a bit of a hit being on the sidelines for so long but it's just another game. I got stitched up (in the first final), I think I was only supposed to play about 20 minutes off the bench and ended up playing the whole 80."

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Herangi's presence made a difference as Wagga City edged out Waratahs 45-43 in an epic major semi-final.

He believes the battle of the pack will be the key to victory on Saturday.

"I think it all starts with the forwards, I reckon. If we win the battle there I think it will be a pretty cruisy win," Herangi said.

"I'm not too sure. Tahs are always a good opponent, we've had some pretty close games this year so it will be the same as those ones."

Herangi and the rest of the Wagga City pack will need to be at their best after losing Donovan Godinet to suspension for the decider.

"Donny, he's a pretty huge loss," Herangi said.

"He's the reason why I've got to play bigger minutes this week so it's a bit of a stitch up there. He's a big loss but hopefully we can fill those gaps and do well.

"Having three teams in grand finals is pretty handy."

Herangi knows all about grand final success. He won a title with Cootamundra in his first season in Australia and then has been a big part of Wagga City's recent success.

He believes a couple of wake up calls early in the season set the Boiled Lollies on the right path.

"We started off pretty rough," he said.

"I think we came into the season thinking we were pretty untouchable and then we got found out in a couple of games and I think that was good for us, doing that at the beginning of the year so we could switch it on at the end."

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