Belconnen United v Canberra United Academy | Saturday, 3pm @ McKellar Park

For the fifth time this season, Belconnen United and the Canberra United Academy will meet in a massive clash on Saturday afternoon to decide a spot in the Grand Final. The two met last weekend in a rescheduled clash after Belconnen’s Federation Cup triumph, and the Premiers have won all four contests so far this season. They will be tough to beat at McKellar Park, particularly with a full strength squad to pick from. They finished the season on a tear to keep their undefeated status, claimed an eighth straight Premiership with rounds to spare and then knocked over the Academy in a pulsating Cup Final, but their eyes will be fixed firmly on this match after a Grand Final loss this year. Antoni Jagarinec said after their Premiership triumph that there would be no wavering on the road to the Grand Final, and they remain the team to beat. Their strength comes from not only their depth but their talent across the park, and they have a lot of threats for the Academy to nullify. United will likely retain the majority of possession and play the game on their terms, but must be mindful of the Academy coming out hot as they did in the final last week.

For the Academy, they will know that they remain the underdogs heading into this match but that is arguably how Ryan Grogan prefers for his team to approach the contest. Apart from a 1-0 loss in round six, the Academy have scored first against Belconnen in all three of their other contests, but have then gone on to lose the match by scores of 3-1 (Round 10 rescheduled), 5-1 (Round 15) and 2-1 (Federation Cup). There is evidence to suggest that United start slowly against the energetic Academy side and if Grogan’s team can exploit that here then it will be key. They will need to score more than once to win the game, something they have been unable to do, with Belconnen last being kept scoreless in a Round two loss to Tuggeranong last year. This side has the talent to knock off a side like United but it will take a fantastic performance to do it here at McKellar Park.

Canberra FC v Canberra Olympic | Sunday, 3pm @ Woden Park

Canberra FC come into this meeting against Olympic with the edge over their opponents across the season, however will be wary of their opponents coming into the finals at full strength. Last years Grand Final winners are in the same position as they were at this time during the last campaign, facing a sudden death path the whole way through the finals to make the big dance. Mark Risteski’s side had a mixed end to the season, dropping two of their last three games but having had a week off ahead of this match should be refreshed and ready to go. They have knocked off Olympic twice this year, but lost the third as Grace Maher returned from injury and their opponents approached full strength. A disciplined performance here from the hosts should see them through to the Preliminary Final, but they need to get off to a strong start and avoid letting the talented Olympic midfield control the game.

A strange team during the regular season, Olympic rarely seemed to have their full cast available and as a results scraped into the top four in the final few weeks. But they have been building, and put in an excellent shift against Belconnen United recently in the Women’s Federation Cup, going down by only a goal. They suffered a heavy loss at the hands of CUA in the final week of the season but a strong run-in otherwise means they are a dark horse in the final four. The core group of Meg McLaughlin, Grace Maher, Grace Field, Sally Rojahn and Bec Kiting is full of Westfield W-League and NPLW experience and the finals stage will be no stranger to them. If they can impose themselves from the start and take an early handle on the game then they will be a tough side to beat on Sunday.