Coming up this Saturday, the 28th of September at the Vanier College –

• 1pm – Ladies’ football Final: Verdun Vikings vs Goose Village Blackrocks
• 2pm – Hurling Final: St Henri Harps vs N.D.G. Na Fianna Rouges
• 3pm – Men’s football Final: Goose Village Blackrocks vs Griffintown Gaels

Well folks, this is it. After forty two games across three codes, the finalist have been decided and now it’s winner takes all in one final match for each code.

Kicking things off we have the ladies’ football final, where the Verdun Vikings take on the Goose Village Blackrocks. The Blackrocks had to wait until the last game of the season to confirm their place in the final, whereas their opponents were one of the first teams to book theirs. This coupled with the fact that this final is also a replay of the winter final, where the Vikings were comfortable winners, might lead you to believe that the Blackrocks are the underdogs going into this match.
But in reality it’s honours even across all the meetings these teams have had this season, with two wins apiece, which is a truer reflection of these two sides. The air of inevitability around the Vikings has been lifted this season and the Blackrocks know that they can be beaten, but they’re still a formidable side with some impressive talent. So, will it be two for two in 2019 for the Vikings, or are the Blackrocks going to have their revenge for the winter league? Either way this should make for an amazing opening match.

For a change of pace, the middle game will be the Hurling Final, where the St Henri Harps line out against N.D.G. Na Fianna Rouges. The Harps have been the team to beat this season, dropping only three games overall and taking an commanding lead of the table from the very beginning, which they’ve never given up. By contrast the Rouge started poorly, with three losses on the trot, before slowly turning things around, and finally besting the Harps in their last game of the season. Head to head, it favours the Harps, who won three of the four meetings, but with the Rouge coming into this final on the back of a three win streak of their own, it could be anybody’s game. Like the Vikings in the opening game, Na Fianna are looking to make it two for two in 2019, and will surely give it everything they’ve got, but they’ll have a hard time besting a Harps side that will feel that for the first time since 2017 that their time is now. However it pans out it should make for a fiercely competitive game.

And finally, we have the Men’s football final, where the Goose Village Blackrocks, the winners of the winter league, take on the Griffintown Gaels, who failed to win a single game in that same league. And what a turn around of a season it’s been for the Gaels, they finished top of the table with only two losses and a single draw against them. This fine form had kept them in the driving seat for a lot of the season, and now they’ve just one last match left. For their part, the Blackrocks have had an equally impressive season, and have had the better of the Gaels throughout the season, taking two wins out of the three meetings. But while that can give us an idea of how this match might go, there’s no doubting that these sides are very well matched. The Blackrocks would very much like to complete the two for two that’s on offer to them, but the Gaels haven’t held silverware since 2017. Neither side will be willing to give an inch, and absolutely will not stop from the first whistle until the last. Which should give the very last superleague game of 2019 the kind of high intensity that the league deserves.

Coming up this Friday, the 20th of September at the Vanier College –

• 8pm – PSC Cu Chulainn vs N.D.G. Na Fianna Rouges
• 9pm – Griffintown Gaels (Men’s) vs Concordia Warriors (Men’s)

The second last set of games before the summer superleague finals give us what may well be the deciding match in the Hurling superleague and the final men’s game.

First, we have PSC Cu Chulainn taking on N.D.G. Na Fianna Rouges ìn what could well be the decider for who will take the second place spot in the hurling final. PSC go into this game two points behind, but with a game in hand. Victory here would bring them level with Na Fianna, and then either a win or draw in their final game of the season would guarantee them a spot in the finals. For the Rouges, a win or a draw here will be sufficient to see them into the finals, no matter what happens in the last hurling game. If they lose, the odds are still in their favour, as they currently enjoy a fifty point scoring cushion, so as long as PSC lose their final game, then it’s very likely that Na Fianna will still progress to the finals.
All of which means just one thing for tonight, with a place in the finals on the line, both teams are going to go at this, and go at it hard. Expect a fantastic display as both these teams dig deep and try to give it their all.

Rounding out the night is an affair with much lower stakes. With the finalists already decided for the men’s final, the Griffintown Gaels will line out for their last regular season game against the Concordia Warriors. This game will provide the Gaels with some valuable game time before the big day, and the Warriors – undoubtedly looking towards the winter league – will take the freedom offered by this game to experiment and try out some new things. This should give us a wonderful display as the gaels hone themselves for the final against a side free to play as they wish. Should make for a fine end to the evening.

Coming up this Friday, the 13th of September at the Vanier College –

• 7pm – Griffintown Gaels (Ladies) vs Goose Village Blackrocks (Ladies)
• 8pm – Concordia Warriors (Men’s) vs Goose Village Blackrocks (Men’s)

This Friday at Vanier we have a meeting between the top and bottom sides in the men’s football, and in the ladies’ football we’re looking at the last roll of the dice for the Gaels as they look to make an unlikely journey to the finals.

Kicking things off we have the Griffintown Gaels facing off against the Goose Village Blackrocks in the ladies’ football. While currently in last place the Gaels aren’t without hope, They’re only four points behind their opponents tonight, the Goose Village Blackrocks. Winning their final two games, and hoping the rocks lose theirs would be enough to bring them to level pegging. Granted, they’ll also need to overturn a eighty four point scoring deficit to push past the rocks and into second place, but before they can worry about that, they’ll need to worry about the game at hand. it’s certainly a herculean task, but stranger things have happened in this league before, and will happen again. The Blackrocks are, by contrast, in a much easier position. A single point out of their last two games will secure their place in the final, and even failing that the scoring difference gives them a solid cushion. But a win here would be preferable, as it would allow them to go into their final game against the Vikings being able to treat it as a dry-run of the final, rather than a must win game.
This is the last chance for the Gaels, so expect them to come out swinging and to leave everything on the pitch, the Blackrocks know they just need to keep their heads and take their points and they’ll book their place in the final. All of which ought to make for a fantastic match, certainly one to watch.

Rounding the night out, we have a bit of dead rubber. With the men’s finalists already decided, the Warriors know that the standings won’t really change no matter how they play against the Blackrocks. But with nothing to lose, there’s nothing holding this side back – a win here would lift spirits on the Warriors and put them on the front foot going into the winter league. On the other side of the equation, the Blackrocks will be looking to use this to get some vital game time and keep their reflexes sharp for the upcoming final, but also need to be mindful of injuries. Will the rocks keep their foot down and look to make their place at the top of the league intact, or will they rest and focus more on the finals? Will the Warriors have one last outstanding performance left for us, or have their eyes turned to the upcoming winter league? But more than likely, once the ball is thrown in all thought of long term thinking will go out thew window as these two sides will go at each other with their trademark ferocity, and give us a cracker of a game in the process.