The final score of 39-10 reflected the dominant display of the Hawks, who were playing in front of their home crowd at McLean Oval.

The Magpies went into the match with plenty of confidence after a strong minor semi-final win over the Bungendore Tigers but found themselves chasing an early Harden lead.

The lead then quickly grew, as missed tackles and poor ball control crept into Yass' game. The Magpies only scored once in the first half with a good passage of play down the left flank ending with Tim Regan planting down in the corner. Despite a one-sided halftime score line, there was still a belief in the dressing sheds that they could turn things around.

A dangerous attacking raid in the first set of the second half left Jai Smith millimetres short of the try line and then Harden was at it again down the other end, crossing first to further extend the lead.

Yass scored a consolation try late in the second half through Chris Gorman but it was Harden's day and they topped it off with a field goal.

It is the second year in a row that the Magpies have been eliminated by Harden one-game shy of a grand final berth.

President of the club Greg Smith said he was happy with the side's year but felt they deserved more.

"It's disappointing that the game blew out the way it did, they deserved to at least go out in a tight one," he said.

"I can't put my finger on it but that's two years in a row that they've played their worst game in the prelim final.

"I thought a grand final was in reach for them, they played really well all year and finished a solid third, whereas last year they scraped into fourth so it was a fantastic year given a few people left and there were a number of new faces....and yeah I know the boys are disappointed."

The result means the undefeated Binalong Brahmans take on the Harden Hawks in a repeat of last year's George Tooke Shield Grand Final.