v  11:50am at Wyong sees Wests making the journey south to take on hosts The Entrance. In the 2 games this season The Entrance has beaten Wests, including a 6-2 drubbing at the same venue back in round 7.

The Entrance are currently 4th and need the win to keep pressure on for the valued 3rd spot. The problem is the team ahs won only 2 of thier last 6, and this is not good form going into the finals series. However last weeks gritty victory over tigers will give the team some motivation and they should prove too strong for the visitors. Wests sit 6th but have been a hit and miss team this year. They seem to lift when playing the teams at the top end of the ladder but cant maintain that level of perfomance whe they play the rest of the competition. With nothing to play for now except the chance to upset the finals bound teams, it might allow the side to relax and play some good constructive hockey. No team news from either camp this week.

v Tigers and Norths go head to head at the NIHC from midday. Both clubs love playing each other and with 2 lower grade fixtures following this clash the atmosphere will be excellent. Norths have collected maximum points in both clashes this season, including a big 9-1 result back in round 7. Tigers have been dissapointing this season, unable to produce the results they would of liked, despite having a very talented squad. The goal for Tigers will be to tighten their defence which has leaked way to many goals this season. Norths will be dissapointed with last weeks loss to Maitland, and could look to bounce back this week in a big way, and this could be very bad news for Tigers.

Norths captain Silas Moss was happy to provide the following for hunterhockey.info : "The one thing we have struggled for this season is consistency in the starting line up. We've had our fair share of injuries and a bundle of representative committments. It's no different this week, Sean O'Brien has succumed to a back injury which will see a recall of premiership keeper and Club legend Roland Hatton in the net.
After the way we trained and the soul searching this week after going scoreless last up, I'm expecting to see a highly committed outfit in the blue and pink on the weekend.All our teams will be wearing pink socks as a fundraiser for the McGrath Foundation as part of the Norths Ladies Day."

Get down and support the McGrath Foundation fundraiser.

v 1:30pm Souths and University meet in an intriguing clash. Souths have put 5 past the Uni defence on both occasions this season.

The Lions will certainly start favourites due to their positions on the ladder. The team played some good hockey against Wests last weekend and will want the same for this game, knowing next weeks clash with The entrance is likely to decide who finishes 3rd and 4th and gets the home semi final. As has been said the past few weeks, the side is known for coming home strongly and I suspect University will be on the end of a strong Souths performance. The students sit 5th though and they arent there because they are a crap team. Infact they have played some highly entertaining hockey when at full strength and certainly have the players to cause an upset.

Souths legend Johnny Fernance submitted this preview: "Last week South’s were far from clinical when easing pasts Wests 6-1. Without stars Simon Vimpani, Jaden Ekert, Stuart Fletcher and Ben King due to injury, the rest of the team had to stand up and get the result which could prove vital in the race for a home semi final.
This week see’s a tricky clash against the much improved University side. They have narrowly missed a spot in the top four and I am sure they will be out to prove that they should have been there. Again, South’s will be without Simon Vimpani, Stuart Fletcher and Ben King due to injury. John Fernance remains in doubt again as he races to overcome injury, but the team will welcome back key striker Jaden Ekert and midfielder Daniel Edge. University have been the big improvers of 2010 and South’s will not be taking them lightly as they look to consolidate 3rd spot on the ladder and a home semi final.
Coach Vimpani has gained a new perspective on the team’s play from his stint on the sidelines over the past few week’s and has indicated there is still plenty of room for improvement heading into the finals. He had this to say “Overall the team is gathering momentum coming into the finals and we have put some reasonable performances together in the past month, considering the number of players we have had unavailable. A narrow loss to a full Strength Maitland several weeks ago has given us a good indication of where we are at with 3-4 key players to come back into the side. South’s are expecting to be a full strength for the first time all year come finals time and Coach Vimpani believes that the Mighty Lions will be hard to stop in their bid to win back to back premierships”".

No team news from University as yet.

v At 3pm competition leaders Maitland host the bottom ranked side Gosford. dont let the ladder positions fool you though, this seasons clashes have ended in a 1-1 draw and the Rams just sneaking home 4-3 back in round 13. This game should be a lot closer then people think.

The Rams of course will be bouyed by the fact they sit top of the competition with 2 rounds to play, gunning for thier maiden minor premeirship. The big win over Norths last week will give them plenty of confidence. Coach Baker will need to harness that and make sure the guys heads are in the right spot ahead of this clash. Gosford have been a real dissapointment but with the return of thier star player Dave Fibbons have been much more competitive. University players indicated last weekend he was a standout in gosfords win over them. If he plays, it will be a very good clash indeed. No team news from either party as yet.

Get out and support your club and sport this weekend!

COURTESY MANNING RIVER TIMES

TAREE Tigers have advanced to the grand final of Mid Coast Premier League hockey following their dominant 5-1 victory over minor premiers Chatham.

In what was expected to be a tight physical affair Tigers dominated from the outset and shutdown a lacklustre Chatham team.

Chatham will now need to regroup before next Saturday's preliminary final against Port City.

Tigers' experience at this level was highlighted, however coach Tony Lewis still believes there is room for improvement.

"We certainly played well in most areas, our defence in particular executed our game plan to perfection,'' Lewis said.

"There are still a few areas that we need to improve and we need to keep in the moment as our hardest work is still in front of us."

Tigers opened their account early in the first half with a brilliant penalty flick from Gavin Boyd. Thomas Cubbin soon continued the early Tigers advantage when he benefited from a Chatham defensive error and found the net for Tigers to lead 2-0.

Chatham applied some attacking pressure in the next stanza however the Tigers' defence was first class and Chatham were unable to capitalise on their opportunities.

Soon after Tigers turned defence into attack for Daniel Adam to score and send Tigers ahead 3-0.

Leading into half time possession was evenly balanced and Chatham were applying more pressure and playing with more control however Tigers were able to work hard through this period and were rewarded with a fourth goal just before halftime when Adam was left unmarked in the circle to score his second.

Tigers were a little flat early in the second half and Chatham lifted through Adam Birkefeld, Nathan George and Shane Klump and were rewarded with a goal and this lifted the intensity of the match once again.

Shortly after tensions boiled over leading to two players from each team being sin binned following separate incidents.

Tigers were again first to regain their composure and put the game beyond doubt when Mark Atkins pounced on a lose ball to set up Robert Fish to finish the scoring at Tigers 5 Chatham 1.

Tigers best were Paul Cox, Rhett Pattison and Gavin Boyd up front while their defence was outstanding led by Brad Mitchell, Phil Bake, Brad Collins and keeper Matt Pullen.

Chatham never stopped trying and were well led by Hal Phillips, Matt Doherty, Keegan Jobson and Jordan Styles.