Eddie and Meridith Bone will line up for Canberra in the quarter final against South Australia, with Eddie to skipper the side as the  Strikers push for their first ever AHL title.

Meanwhile, former Wanderers gun Hayden Dillon has been named in the NSW Waratahs squad for their finals series, which begins against Western Australia on the Gold Coast. 

The Strikers will face South Australia at 2.45pm on Thursday at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre after finishing third in their pool behind Queensland and NSW, while the Waratahs play at 4.30pm. 

All three sides finished with two wins in Pool A, with the Strikers losing 5-1 to Queensland before defeating NSW 2-0 in an upset result in their final match to have momentum heading into the finals. 

The main difference in the pool was the points difference gained from trouncing last-placed Tasmania, which Queensland did 15-0 to shoot to the top of the pool, while the Strikers’ 3-0 win was modest in comparison. 

Meredith Bone scored both her goals for the tournament in that win, with a field goal and conversion.  

South Australia also finished their pool with two wins, overcoming Western Australia and the Northern Territory 3-2 and 3-0 respectively before the Suns’ 1-0 loss to reigning champions Victoria on Monday. 

Should the Strikers defeat the Suns win through their qualifying final, they will come up against the winner of Queensland and the Northern Territory on Saturday, with medal matches to be played on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, Dillon played just the one game for the Arrows, taking the field in NSW’s 3-1 loss to ACT, but the 21-year-old has been named in the squad which will line up against Pool B winners WA Thundersticks. 

NSW are winless from three games, going down 4-6 to Queensland, 5-4 to Tasmania in their two other matches. 

The Thundersticks were undefeated in their pool, and will be bolstered by returning Kookaburras players Aran Zalewski, Jake Harvie and Tyler Lovell.