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The final round took place last weekend (Jan 23rd/Jan 24th). The Sirens split the weekend with the Ice in Sydney, whilst Adelaide cemented third place with two wins at home against the Goannas. It is now onto finals next weekend February 6th/7th at the O’Brien Group Arena

After 7 rounds Melbourne (1st) will take on Sydney Sirens (2nd) in Semi Final #1. These two met last weekend and the results have left everyone guessing as to who is the favourite come Saturday. The Sirens started the weekend with a 7-1 win over the defending champions. With the scores locked 1-1 after the first period, Sirens veterans Sharna Godfrey and Kath McOnie took fire contributing on the next three goals in the second period. Their play was followed by Stephanie Cochrane who managed a hat-trick on the teams 4th, 5th and final goal. Captain Mel Matheson chipped in two assists on the night.

Melbourne Ice however proved why they are defending champions, responding with a 3-2 lead at the end of the first period on the Sunday. Alivia Del Basso scored first, before the two teams began exchanging goals. Carly Rolph buried an insurance marker at the beginning of the second giving her team a 4-2 buffer. Sirens Amelia Matheson led her side by example less than a minute later. The Sirens went onto score two more unanswered goals and lead the second period 5-4. Del Basso was active again assisting Nicola Jones to tie the scores at the start of the third period. Sharna Godfrey showed why she is the league leader in goals (20) and points (36) this season as she collected yet another hat-trick (her third of the season) to put the Sirens back in front. Melbourne put on the pressure and the Sirens couldn’t hold the lead with Shona Powell tying it up with five remaining. Rylie Padjen sealed the deal for the Ice with two minutes winning back some momentum heading into the finals weekend.

Semi Final #2 will feature Adelaide Adrenaline (3rd) vs Brisbane Goannas (4th). Adelaide may have won both games last weekend in convincing fashion but don’t rule out the determined Goannas. The Goannas led the Adrenaline 2-1 in Saturdays game with Rosanna Routledge and Georgia Giblin combining on both Goannas goals. But Adelaide responded with a duo of their own in Kirsty Venus and Beth Kavanagh tieing things up in the second before scoring another three unanswered goals to put the game out of reach at 5-2. Dianna Glass popped home the final goal to make it 6-2.

On Sunday Beth Kavanagh with the help of her team mates notched a hat-trick in a solid 3-0 performance. The hat-trick wasn’t enough to catch Sharna Godfrey in the points race coming a close second with 29 points. Adelaide will be keen to take this momentum into next Saturday against the Goannas. The Goannas will be looking for an upset which they are capable in providing. Both teams featuring dangerous players meaning no team is safe this weekend and we should be in for a great finals series!

Check the AWIHL, IHA or teams facebook pages for livestream information and score updates!