There will be some anxious looks over the fence this afternoon as five teams chase four semifinal spots in the last round of the men's national hockey league.
Third-placed Canterbury and Auckland - locked on 12 points - hit-off at 4pm followed 30 minutes later, on the upperturf at North Harbour's Crown Relocations Stadium, by the game between fifth-placed Midlands and Southern, who have had a win and a draw to keep themselves ahead of Central and Northland.
The loser of the first game will have their semifinal hopes dashed if Midlands, as expected, get up for their fourth win of the season. Should Canterbury and Auckland draw - and there have been only three draws in 24 men's games so far - and Midlands win, Auckland would be eliminated.
Canterbury have the ace in leading goal-scorer Hayden Shaw who has scored 10 but Auckland, too, are well-served by their Black Sticks striker Simon Child, who is two goals back in second, one ahead of Wellington's Mark Paterson and Matt Hullier.
Despite Southern winning only once, Chris Ashton has scored five of their 10 goals. He is joined in equal fifth place by North Harbour's Dave Kosoof and Nick Watson (Central).
The race for top spot heading into Friday's semifinals will be decided in the 6pm clash between hosts North Harbour and defending champions Wellington in a replay of last year's final. Both teams have won four but dropped points with a draw and a loss to go into this clash on 13 points - one more than Canterbury and Auckland. By the time Harbour and Wellington hit off, the result of the game between Auckland and Canterbury will be known and the permutations revealed.
In today's other game, Central play Northland at 6.30pm to decide the wooden spoon. The women's final round will be played tomorrow, also at North Harbour.
