They're in the box seat to claim finish fourth and while they can do so even if they drop Saturday's blockbuster, final-round women's Premier League Hockey clash with Bathurst City, Confederates' stand-in skipper Eva Reith-Snare said her side isn't focusing on the hypothetical.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
They just want to win, and take those what-ifs out of the equation.
Confederates are four points clear of fifth-placed Bathurst City and have a four-goal buffer in terms of differential too and so a victory would, as Reith-Snare put it, "seal the deal".
If the Orange side was to lose Bathurst City would draw level on competition points, and Confederates would be relying on the margin being small enough to ensure they earned their second finals berth since re-entering the competition in 2012.
"It's exciting, we're in front of them by a few points so it would be good to just get the win and seal the deal," Reith-Snare.
"We made the finals in 2017 but last year unfortunately we finished fifth, so we've been working really hard this year after missing out.
- Are you a Central Western Daily subscriber? Then why not CLICK HERE and join our new Central West Sports Subscribers Facebook group?
"It was definitely a goal to make the top four but we didn't speak about it too much (early in the year). We are now, so we want to make sure we play as a side and the way we did last week, hopefully we'll get the result from that."
Confederates took down Bathurst Souths last weekend to move clear of Bathurst City, the 3-2 victory also ending the two blues' season.
That was Reith-Snare's second game with the captain's band, which she took from regular skipper Ellen Warner, who remains sidelined after suffering a broken leg in round 11 against CYMS.
She'll continue leading the side until Warner is back on her feet, if she returns in 2019 at all, the promotion coming just before she was named in Hockey Australia's Hockey Australia women's national junior squad, despite being just 17.
"[Captaining the side] isn't too different, it's just wearing the band and getting around the girls a bit more," Reith-Snare said.
"It was a bit different playing without Ellen at the back though, without her control and leadership, but I think we've still got the side across the paddock to get the job done and she was still there and having her input from the sideline, which was good."
Confederates travel to face Bathurst City from 3.15pm on Saturday afternooon while in the other final-round games minor premiers Orange CYMS are on the road to Lithgow Panthers from 2.40pm.
While mathematically CYMS can be knocked off their perch, it's not a probably outcome.
Ex-Services will look to end their season with a win over Lithgow Zig Zag at Orange from 1.55pm, while Souths and St Pat's face-off in an all-Bathurst derby.
WANT MORE ORANGE NEWS AND SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
