On Sunday afternoon the Newcastle Northstars defeated the Central Coast Rhinos 3-2 to extend their lead over the Canberra Brave in the Rurak Conference.

It all comes down to one weekend to decide the final placing for one and two. Let’s look at the numbers:

Northstars regulation win would see them finish on 52 points.

Canberra Brave securing two regulation wins against Adelaide Adrenaline would put them to a maximum of 50 points.

On Saturday night, goals from Francis Drolet and Beau Taylor secured the win for the Northstars, giving the travelling fans something big to cheer for and keeping their future in their own hands.

Newcastle Head Coach Kevin Noble shared how, “it was really good to see our guys persevere through and find the win, and set us up for next weekend where we are in a position to clinch a Saturday night berth.”

“Come Tuesday night and looking forward to Saturday at home playing,” continued Noble, “they (Mustangs) don’t have a lot to play for but they have every reason to come in and spoil the party, and sometimes those games are difficult to play.”

With sights firmly set on the top spot, Noble is aware of the possibility they might face a challenge, sharing, “The issue with playing the three games in Melbourne is that it’s not so much a lack of faith that you can’t get it done winning three in a row, it’s just statistically less likely. A lot has to go right for you.”

“For us we want to be in the best spot, with the best chance for success, and that is to win next week. Failing that, it doesn’t matter as we’ve put ourselves in a position now where we get two opportunities to win, and we just want to play Saturday in Melbourne.”

The Northstars will host the Melbourne Mustangs on August 10^th for the final game of the regular season.