THE second edition of Orange Men’s Hockey Association’s John Davis Motors Superleague comes to a close after Sunday’s final round, and if all goes as expected it’ll be a two-horse race.
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Although mathematically the Mazda Maulers and Volvo Vikings are still a chance as well, the unbeaten Suzuki Strikers are set to fight for the 2016 title with the JDM Jokers. The latter side came into the competition this season.
Appropriately, the two sides will play off in the last game of Sunday’s third round in a potential grand final match-up.
“There’s only one game between the two sides at the moment, it literally could go either way,” Superleague architect Scott Baker said.
“The Strikers are undefeated and went through round two without a loss, with the bare minimum of players, which was pretty impressive.
“The Jokers have only lost two games so far … guess who beat them? The Strikers, both times.”
Current NSW Country gun Nic Milne will come back into the Jokers’ side while the Strikers are led by former NSW Country and Australian Country under-21 star Alex Said.
Milne and his Jokers, Baker said, are hell-bent on winning their first three games of Sunday against the Vikings, the Maulers and the last-placed Renault Royals to set up a mouth-watering play-off against the Strikers.
Should the Jokers and Strikers both win their first three games, and the former side win the last game, goal difference will decide the title winner.
“The Jokers will be out for a bit of revenge after the Strikers beat them those two times,” Baker said.
“Given the nature of the team selections and the format of the competition it’s a dream come true for organisers for it to be this close.
“Daryl Kennewell’s Renault Royals won last season relatively easily but to see this year’s tournament this close, this late and potentially come down to the last game of a 30-game competition is awesome.
“The Vikings and Maulers should fight it out for third, only goal difference separates them at the moment.
“The Royal will be boosted by (NSW and Australian Country) star Michael Dillon coming into the side for the final round.”
The first game of Sunday’s final round kicks off at 11.20am and the final game is expected to start at around 5.15pm, with the presentation and awards to be conducted after that game.
A barbecue will run all day as well, with all proceeds to benefit the local junior hockey clubs and competitions.