The NSW Waratahs insist they won’t fall for the flash and dash of the Fijians again in Saturday’s Super Rugby W grand final in Melbourne.

The Waratahs go into the decider at AAMI Park – held in conjunction with the men’s Super Round – as underdogs with Fijiana Drua unbeaten this season.

NSW skipper Grace Hamilton said her team got sucked into trying to beat their enterprising opponents at their own game when they lost 29-10 in their round robin meeting.

Grace Hamilton of the Waratahs celebrates victory with team mates during the Super W Semi Final match between the NSW Waratahs and the Queensland Reds. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

“The last time we played them we were a bit taken aback,” Hamilton said on Friday. 

“We haven’t played that style of rugby in a lot of years due to not being able to play a lot of Test matches with COVID-19 so for a lot of girls it was eye-opening.

“They play different styles of footy – they’re fast and they’re physical … they love an off-load game and they’re really unstructured. 

“I think we got caught into playing like them last time and tried to off-load ball and that’s not really us.

“It’s about sticking into our game plan, how we want to play and controlling that territory and we’ve got to be up for it defensively.”

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While Fijiana, who are playing in the competition for the first time, advanced straight through to the grand final the second-placed Waratahs took on third-placed Queensland for their spot.

It was their second straight meeting with the Reds and the Waratahs scored 82 points across those games without conceding any.

Hamilton, who is also the Test No.8, said her team took confidence from those defensive performances.

“That momentum building into a grand final is definitely important for us and I think even having that extra game was really good for our combinations,” she said. 

“We’ve had a lot of injuries, COVID, and the team has changed a lot so for us, getting those combinations right leading into grand final is really important.”

The Waratahs have dual-code Test player Mahalia Murphy in the line-up after the star fullback missed the previous clash with the Fijians.

“She’s got X factor, ” Hamilton said of 28-year-old Murphy.

“Her with the outside backs Margo (Vella) and Lori (Cramer), they’ll really link well together and they’re great finishers.

“They’ve got a lot of ball skills and hopefully in the forwards we can lay the platform for them to execute.” 

© AAP