Collingwood coach Penny Cula-Reid says the late Danny Frawley "would have been really proud" of Sharni Layton's performance on Sunday after the former Australian netballer helped lead the Magpies into the VFLW grand final.

Layton, in her first VFLW campaign after making her AFLW debut earlier this year, was one of her side's best in Sunday's 7.5 (47) to 5.3 (33) preliminary final win over the Southern Saints at North Port Oval, which saw the minor premiers book a grand final meeting with the Western Bulldogs.

Sharni Layton celebrates the Pies' win. AAP

"Sharni, having worked with Danny Frawley on Bounce, she really had something a little bit extra to play for," Cula-Reid said.

"She was unreal, being a follow ruck, pretty much through the whole game.

"When she heard the news, obviously absolute devastation and we wanted to support her in any way that we could, so whatever she wanted to do, we were making sure we were able to cater for whatever she needed.

"It's really important she could take some time but have that distraction too, so she had a light session on the Tuesday and trained fully on Thursday and then we had a captain's run on Saturday morning.

Layton shares a moment with her teammates after the match. AAP

"I think it was great for her to be a part of today and really play some fantastic football. Danny 'Spud' Frawley would have been really proud of her today."

Southern Saints led 14-6 midway through the first term, but Collingwood kicked the next four goals to take an 11-point lead into the main break.

The Saints again had their opportunities in the third term, but the Magpies, who lost just two games in the regular season, stamped themselves in the last 20 minutes, led by star midfielder Jaimee Lambert, who kicked the final goal of the game.

The Pies meet the Dogs in the decider, a week after they lost 1.8 (14) to 4.2 (26) in the second semi-final.

The Pies sang the song with gusto. AAP

"[Our focus] was to really capitalise on our opportunities moving forward," Cula-Reid said.

"When we kick 1.8 with seven shots inside 30 metres of the goal line, we kind of needed to take those opportunities and we really did that this game.

"[We had] lots of pressure from our midfield group in terms of trying to keep the ball in our forward half and we ended up kicking a few goals, which was very pleasing, especially when we did a lot of goal kicking [practise] all last week.

"The girls have worked pretty hard during the whole season so they just needed to make sure they capitalised and they did, so that's fantastic for them."

While the Dogs pose a significant challenge, in particular in their front half, Cula-Reid said the Magpies would focus on what they do well leading into Sunday's grand final at Ikon Park.

"I know the Bulldogs, they're very efficient up forward," she said.

"They don't have has many inside 50s but they're very, very efficient when they do go forward so just making sure for us that we focus on the middle part of the ground and defending from our forward half and not allowing those entries, but also focusing on us and the brand of footy we play.

"I think the last two weeks we've really focused on the opposition and really gone away from what we do best and the way that we play.

"This week was a real focus on getting back to us and reminding the girls of some of the great games we've played and how did we move the ball and what was it that really stood out for them."