The top four teams that will contest the finals have already been confirmed in all three competitions of the Wimmera Hockey Association, but there is still a great deal of interest in the final round of the regular season with teams either playing for pride, or to find their best form to take them into the finals.
Open
The feature game in the Open competition will be the always entertaining clash between the top two teams who will then meet again the following week in the second semi final.
The Hoops have been the only team to take any points off the Tigers so far this season, when they drew with the reigning premiers in round five, but they have been far from their best form over recent games.
When at their best both of these teams play the artificial pitch at Dimboola well, so the incentive of a good performance against their final opponent should be enough for the Hoops to raise their game and the long tradition of close and entertaining games between these two teams should continue.
Although the match ups for the semi finals cannot change regardless of the results on the weekend, with the right combination of results the Dimboola Burras could swap positions with and finish above their semi final opponent, the Kaniva Cobras.
The Burras take on the Nhill Rangers on Friday evening, but given the recent impressive form of the lower ranked Nhill team the Burras cannot take a victory in this game for granted and will have to play at their best if they are to go into the finals with winning form.
The Kaniva Cobras have also shown patchy form in recent weeks and they come up against the Horsham Hurricanes who have the second best winning record of all six Open division teams over the last three weeks, behind only the Tigers who they pushed all the way last Saturday.
If they are to be a threat in the finals, the Cobras will have to regain their winning form in this game before they take on the Burras in the first semi final.
Women
The ultimate round of hockey in the Women's competition will see the top three teams take on the lower three teams so one sided games could be expected, but the lower ranked teams all still have some incentive to perform.
The Warrack Women will want to perfect their team play in preparation for their first final this decade, so although they will take on the current ladder leader they have nothing to lose and could prove a challenge.
On Friday evening the Nhill Thunderbirds will be looking for a win that would allow them to move up to fifth place, but they take on a confident Dimboola Roos who could snatch top spot on the ladder should they win and Yanac falter.
After forfeiting their game last weekend, the Horsham Jets will need to settle their line-up before the finals when they take on Kaniva.
The Jets have displayed some erratic form this season, being very good when they can put their best team on the field but they can be vulnerable when they are missing just one or two of their most influential players.
Kaniva will be disappointed that they have not followed up their drought breaking top four finish last season with another finals appearance, but they still have the need to win if they are not to slip back to sixth place.
Under 16
A clash between the top two teams this season will headline round fifteen with the first placed Warrack Revengers taking on the second placed Yanac Warriors, and although regardless of the result they will meet again a week later in the semi finals, the winner of this game will earn the title of minor premiers.
Both have a similar record this season, with only two points separating them on the ladder but there is also not much between them on the field.
The Kaniva Raiders will be in the finals but their form has been less than convincing this season, having only won five of their fourteen games, so they will be looking for a win before they take on the Nhill Leopards in the semi finals.
Their opponent, the Horsham Bombers, are a much better team than their current ladder position would suggest and they are very capable of causing an upset.
The Dimboola Kangaroos will take some confidence from the fact that despite their relative positions on the ladder, their record over the last three weeks is exactly the same as the Nhill Leopards indicating that this game could go either way.
The Kangaroos cannot make the finals but a win would ensure that they do not finish on the bottom of the ladder whilst the Leopards will want win as a positive lead into the finals.
Under 12 Development Program
The last round of the Under 12 Development Program will be played on Saturday with the Horsham Black Hawks taking on the Kaniva Rampagers, the Nhill Bandits playing the Dimboola Kookaburras and the Yanac Lowan Stars meeting the Warrack Avengers.
Round Fifteen Fixture
Friday Evening
7.00 pm - Women - Nhill Thunderbirds v. Dimboola Roos
8.30 pm - Open - Nhill Rangers v. Dimboola Burras
Saturday
9.30 am - Under 16 - Horsham Bombers v. Kaniva Raiders
11.00 am - Under 16 - Nhill Leopards v. Dimboola Kangaroos
12.30 pm - Under 12 Development Program - Horsham Black Hawks v. Kaniva Rampagers
12.30 pm - Under 12 Development Program - Nhill Bandits v. Dimboola Kookaburras
12.30 pm - Under 12 Development Program - Yanac Lowan Stars v. Warrack Avengers
1.30 pm - Under 16 - Yanac Warriors v. Warrack Revengers
3.00 pm - Women - Horsham Jets v. Kaniva Women
4.30 pm - Women - Yanac Women v. Warrack Women
6.00 pm - Open - Yanac Tigers v. Warrack Hoops
7.30 pm - Open - Horsham Hurricanes v. Kaniva Cobras
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