v  At 11:50am Gosford host Tigers in thier last game of the season. Both teams sit bottom and will be keen to see this season coming to a close after promising a lot before the season began but unable to produce the results as the season wore on. Its a case of the worst offence versus the worst defence in this clash.

Gosford of course have fallen from the lofty heights of GF participants in 2009 to the wooden spooners in 2010. I watched them play last week against Maitland and they played some very good hockey and should of led the game at half time. Thier youngsters will be better for it next year and I predict a much more competitive side for next years campaign. Tigers caused a stir early in the season when it was announced they were flying 3 players in from Brisbane ona regular basis. The move hasnt produced the results I think they may have wanted, but no doubt the experience and lessons learned by playing in the Brisbane Premier League will have been passed onto the local players and coaching staff and this may just be the kick they need to move up the ladder next year. Expecting this game to be a relaxed affair with plenty of goals at both ends as the two teams enjoy their last run for the year.

v  The final round has produced a big encounter with Souths tackling The Entrance at Midday. This is certainly the match of the round. The stakes are high with this one, the winner getting the home ground advantage and the psychological advantage of the higher ladder position for the first week of the finals. In the two games this year one has ended in a draw and the other was a 4-2 win to Souths.

Souths have hit form at the right time of the season, 3 wins in thier last 4 games with an average of 5+ goals a game for and 1.5 goals against. This has come as no surprise, traditionally the Lions step it up in the back part of the season as they build towards another record GF appearance. The game will mean plenty to the club, as they try and prove to the critics that they are still a force in 2010. This week they will have to compete without Ryan Coulin who sits this game out with suspension due to accruing too many penalty points. No other team news out of the Souths camp this week, but its a good opportunity to wish regular contributor Johnny all the best after the midweek addition of a baby girl to the Fernance family. Congrats!

As for The Entrance, they will be itching to get that home semi final. Their form in recent weeks has not been the best, with big loss to Norths and Maitland but comfortable victories over Uni, Tigers and Wests last weekend. They will need to produce thier best 2 weeks in a row to get over thier opponents, but with the stakes high you expect the skill and commitment levels to improve. The side will be without Michael Banks as he elects to sit out a voluntary suspension to reset his penalty points.

This should be a cracker of a game and well worth watching if your able to get to the NIHC.

v 1:30 sees Norths up against University in a match that could prove testing. Both teams want to finish the regular season on a high. Norths want to win to make sure they have a shot at the Minor title should the Rams slip up in thier clash. The students want to win so they can party hard and long into the night on the back of the emotion that comes with a victory over a more fancied opponent.

Norths are well aware of Unis potential, a narrow hard fought 1-0 win back in Round 4 proves the students can produce a good performance on the day. But more importantly its always good to go into the finals series on the back of good form, and with the exception of the loss to the Rams 2 weeks ago, the Norths team has steamrolled thier opponents in thier last 9 matches. The team has by far the best offence, with an average of almost 5 goals a game across the entire season. They are certainly the form side in terms of goals and this will be thier strength in this clash.

Skipper Silas 'Mossy' Moss reported this ahead of the clash: "As a group we were very happy with the response last weekend after losing to Maitland two weeks ago.
University will be another good test as when they are at their best they can pile the pressure on. I see them as a dangerous opponent at this time of year as they look to finish the season on a high note.
We're probably still looking for our ideal rotation in the midfield, and will experiment on Sunday with a few different combinations. We will be down a few senior players due to niggling injuries and work commitments."

The students have produced some good hockey this season and I predict they will be a serious contender for the finals come 2011, assuming they can keep the current squad and add 1 or 2 key players. 5th place is one of the betetr finishes in the past 10 years for the students. No doubt there will be a decent crowd on hand for this clash in support of the seapigs, with 3 Norths v Uni games back to back ensuring a great atmosphere. No team news available.

v The Rams host Wests from 3pm and will be gunning for thier maiden Minor Premeirship title. The Rosellas have been a thron in the Rams side, with a 3-3 draw in round 4 and a close 4-3 result in round 14. Some talk via Facebook this week suggests Wests are up for the game and will be doing thier best to finish the season on a high. This game will be great and I expect a huge Maitland crowd to be on hand in anticipation of witnessing a small piece of history for Maitland Hockey.

The Rams have produced some big results against the big teams this season, but have struggled to put lower ranked sides away. A big win here and taking the Minor Premeirship will prove that the Rams are the real deal this season.

Coach Nathan Baker had this to say: "There's not really much to say about this weeks game. A win gives us the Minor premiership which is something that I feel is harder to win than a grand final in some respects, a minor premiership takes a whole season of good performances to achieve, while a major premiership can be obtained with a checkered season and good performances in the finals. A win will give the club it's first piece of top grade silverware and the boys will fight to the end to acheive this goal. Wests have indicated that they will come at us hard to halt our dream run but we will be ready for them as we look to cement a home semi final against Norths. No injury concerns for the Rams, we will be at full strength."

It has been said plenty of times, that Wests have played soem great hockey this season but just cant get it together for the full 70 minutes. A trip to Maitland wont phase them, they produce good results on the hybrid surface and will be keen to prove to themselves  that if they can stick with it for the full game they can beat anybody on the day. The team is without Steve mina this weekend. No other team news available.

Get out and support your club.Its Fathers day, so all those who are dads, bring the family and the kids and enjopy a great day at either of the 3 venues.

COURTESY OF MAITLAND MERCURY

COURTESY WINGHAM CHRONICLE

Under 7s and under 9s

THE Wingham under 7s and under 9s finished off their season with a gala day and presentation on the weekend.

The Chapman and Wood under 7 team of Hayden Morris, Jordyn Halfacre-Ryan, Ava Beck and Bridie Stone played two really good games of hockey with every player using their new skills as they worked the ball around the field.

The Wisely's Bus and Coach service under 9 Wingham Grey team, consisting of Gabe Poole, Madeline Betts, Georgie Moss, John Roberts, Aaron Walker, Dimity Bartlett, Griffin Hearn and Mia Smith played three games of hockey and came out on top in all three games.

The Chapman and Wood Under 9 Wingham Green team also played three games, with the last game being played on a full field.

Ellie Smith, Dylan Fittler, Josephine Manks, Grace Ellis, Cameron Brown, Breeanke Hinton and Eliza Baker made their coach Kate proud as they took on the Tigers in this game as they worked together as a team, passing the ball to each other and pushing the ball up the field.

Teammate Liam Pope was cheering them on from the side line. Congratulations to all the teams.

Under 15s

THE Wingham Beef under 15 girls played Sharks in what would be a preview of the semi final as these teams meet again next week, the winner going through to play in the grand final.

Wingham started the game on the attack and never really allowed the Sharks to get near our goal circle.

The occasional chance the Sharks had to score was stopped in its tracks by backs Kate Nielsen and Dannielle Cox.

Goalkeeper Olivia Mudie protected the goal fiercely.

Ellie Stilwell, Emily Luckie, Tara Manahan and Chloe Hogno dominated the forwards and put plenty of pressure on the Sharks defence.

They were rewarded late in the first half when Ellie passed the ball through to Stephanie Harrison who slipped the ball past the goalie's pads to score.

Halves Ella Harcher, Kate Cortaville-Smith and Courtney Morris worked hard all game feeding the ball up the field and although Wingham had plenty of opportunity to score they were unable to get the ball past the Sharks goalie. The team play the Sharks again at 9am Saturday.