Reigning premiers, the Saints, missed out on a major semi-final win against Gunnedah on the Saturday prior to the preliminary final clash and Nomads coach James Treweeke was expecting them to fire up after the disappointment.

After the first quarter, the Saints had a tight, seven point lead over the Nomads but the visitors reduced it to two by half-time.

In the third quarter, the Nomads had overtaken their opponents and came up with a handful of match-winning plays to take the win, and the grand final spot, 11.10-76 to 9.11-65.

"We were just able to keep kicking enough goals to keep that one goal ahead," Treweeke said.

"Probably with about eight minutes to go, they really pushed hard.

"They [Inverell] had a few shots they luckily missed and we were just up by four points and we were able to get down to our end.

"A few crucial contest wins down that last minute, especially from Modra - he jumped on a few loose balls and crashed packs and was able to bomb it forward and young Morgan, he was free, ran on to it and scored the goal.

"It just came down to that."

The tight encounter kept everyone on edge.

Treweeke said the clash was one of the best in the North West competition's history.

"From a league perspective, it was probably one of the best games this league has ever seen," he said.

"I think even one of the umpires even commented on that."

Although they came up with some pivotal plays, Treweeke said the Nomads still weren't at their best.

"I don't know if it was just nerves, finals does some funny things to you and I think we were really excited and really wanted to play but I think it took away from our composure a bit," he said.

"We were dropping easy marks, our skills weren't quite there but when it mattered, they were which was good."

Isaiah Graham and young gun Dylan Moore topped the goal-scoring with three each and Treweeke highlighted the efforts of the teenager.

"Youth all day, especially Dylan Moore, he played his best game all year for us," he said.

"Definitely in the best on field. He absolutely killed it.

"For the smallest bloke in the league, playing in the seniors, he doesn't mind taking a hit.

"He gets straight back up and straight back into it.

"It is great to see they are stepping up in the big moments as well, not just leaving it to the experienced ones."

It's been two seasons since the Nomads last made the grand final.

"You could see what it meant, especially from some of the Inverell boys, there was some heartbroken boys there," Treweeke said.

"We might only be a country league but it matters a lot and it was good to see that the passion is there, especially for the younger boys.

"The juniors had a tough year this year but for the boys that have stepped up and played well for us, they are in a grand final and win or lose it is an achievement for them."

They'll face Gunnedah this Saturday for the grand final.