A pair of Northern men's teams either side of the top four will do battle on Saturday, with the winners to progress to the state club cup in a fortnight's time.
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Queechy and Launceston City will face off for the honour of playing in the new competition pitting the top four teams from both Greater Northern League and the South's Premier League against each other.
Launceston City come into the clash off the back of a strong performance last week, winning 10-0 against City Marians and featuring several players that could spoil Queechy's party if they turn up again.
The Penguins drew with South Burnie and will be hopeful of kicking off their 60th anniversary celebrations with a bang.
Burnie Baptist secured the league's top spot last week and will be out to stay undefeated against City Marians.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
The men in blue have gone seven wins on the trot and only conceded six goals while scoring 47, while it's been a harder slog for the young Marians list, finding the back of the net 12 times and letting 46 through.
A hungry South Launceston outfit is a dangerous one and Devonport is the side faced with the challenge of cooling the Suns down.
The Suns suffered their first loss of the season last week, while Devonport saw Smithton win its first match, which could potentially be a menacing combination heading into this weekend.
Fresh off its aforementioned first win, Smithton hosts West Devonport as the Saints aim to get consecutive wins on the board.
Despite sitting sixth, a top-four spot is at least three wins away for the home side, while West Devonport has experienced both the highs and lows of hockey in the past three weeks.
Winning their first game in 1029 days in round six, the Dragons were then dealt a massive 21-0 loss before having the bye last week.
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Queechy and Launceston City women's contest also has state club cup implications, with a Penguins win to put them in the top four.
At the start of the season, coach Nic Duffy identified qualification as a major goal and with fourth-placed South Burnie on the sidelines this weekend, the opportunity is there.
Launceston City could play devil's advocate though, hungry for a win after being unable to secure one in May.
Elsewhere, two sides at opposite ends of the table - Devonport and South Launceston - do battle on the North-West Coast.
Like their men's side, the Suns suffered their first loss of the year last week, and will be hungry to get back on positive terms with a big victory, while Devonport looks for players to step up in the absence of Kaylah Rataj.
Fresh off splitting the two-week cycle with South Launceston, West Devonport travels to Smithton.
The Dragons can move to top spot if results go their way, but second place seems more likely, with City Marians on their bye week.
Smithton, however, will be out for a victory, after getting its first win in over a month last week.
Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
