RUGBY LEAGUE: Roma Cities sent a warning shot to their rivals on Saturday with a commanding 46-6 victory over the Mitchell Magpies at Bassett Park.

Looking to atone for a shaky win against the same team last week, Cities was a football team playing with purpose and conviction, battering their less-fancied opponents into eventual submission.

While the Magpies clung on bravely to trail by only 16-6 at the break, it was clear Cities had set their eyes on a big score and piled on the points during the second half.

Cities captain Chris Gelhaar said he was very pleased with the side's performance.

"Today was a big improvement on the whole season,” he said.

"We're definitely feeling confident after that performance and with the shape we've got - we can go all the way I hope.”

Gelhaar said it was a combination of factors that led to the dominant performance across 80 minutes.

"The communication was great today with all the boys playing as one while making sure all the little 1 percent things we'd been working on all year were put into the game,” he said.

"We worked hard to keep the Magpies to six points so cheers to the boys for all their efforts.”

Cities winger Alex Coonen was one of the star performers for the home side, grabbing a hat-trick of tries.

Waiting for Cities in next week's semi final will be the Chinchilla Bulldogs, this year's minor premiers going down to the Wallumbilla/ Surat Red Bulls 32-26 on Sunday.