Round 17 – The Tit-For-Tat Premiership Showdown, Bateau Bay with the chance to shake the whole ladder, Women’s will take Top 6 and Maitland with the Home Ground Advantage.
Round 17 – The Tit-For-Tat Premiership Showdown, Bateau Bay with the chance to shake the whole ladder, Women’s will take Top 6 and Maitland with the Home Ground Advantage.
Written by Oliver Croft
Round 17 marks the final round of the home and away season, with some crucial and exciting clashes heading our way. With Mad Monday just around the corner for some teams, whilst others gear up for a challenging final series, it’ll be nothing like you’ve ever seen for the final round in 2025. On The Mark has had your analysis and results from Round 1 and will continue to bring it to you each week of the Finals Series on the AFLHCC.
Men’s Cup
The highly anticipated 1st vs 2nd showdown between Warners Bay and Newcastle City ended not with goals and glory, but with thunder, hail, and ultimately disappointment, as the clash was abandoned on Saturday afternoon.
All week, this contest had been billed as a finals-style dress rehearsal — the top two sides of the competition meeting with pride, momentum, and ladder supremacy on the line. Both camps came prepared for a high-intensity encounter, but in the end, it was the skies that dominated proceedings.
The game endured multiple delays as a fierce storm rolled in, striking with lightning flashes and a heavy burst of hail. By the time conditions settled, officials had held back play until 4:00pm in the hope that the ground could be salvaged. Unfortunately, after careful inspection, the surface was deemed unsafe and unplayable, the ground torn up by the heavy downpour. With senior finals looming large, administrators and officials were firm in their stance: safety and preservation must take priority.
The washout leaves both Warners Bay and Newcastle City without the opportunity to assert dominance in what could well have been a defining clash for momentum leading into finals.
If Terrigal’s clash against Nelson Bay was a test for the Marlins’ finals credentials, the answer came back in the harshest of terms. The Panthers tore Nelson Bay apart by a staggering 116 points, a ruthless display that left the visitors looking fragile and making sure that the Marlins remained winless against any top-four opposition.
From the outset, Terrigal showed no mercy. Their experienced pressure, precision, and scoring power overwhelmed Nelson Bay, who simply could not withstand the weight of the onslaught.
The Marlins are a dangerous force to be reckoned with, but Terrigal Avoca still have the memory of losing the Preliminary Final to Cardiff last year fresh in their minds.
The Panthers are peaking at the right time — hungry, sharp, and uncompromising.
And that’s exactly what they’ll need coming into their Round 17 clash.
So here we go. The Tit-For-Tat Premiership Showdown. Cue the lights, call from the curtains and take your seat on the sideline as a full September dress rehearsal unfolds. And this particular show? We’ve seen it before. From Hylton Moore Oval at 3PM, it’s game on as the Terrigal Avoca Panthers host the Newcastle City Blues. The Panthers vs the Premiers. Red and black vs blue and white. 2nd vs 3rd. Will Terrigal’s 7 Premierships match up with City’s 10? The biggest rivalry on the AFLHCC is igniting once more, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Newcastle are fresh off a week of training hard and tough, whilst Terrigal want a convincing and powerful win to stamp their dominance on the competition. Their last meeting saw City drop their 2nd consecutive game in Round 11, where the Panthers steam rolled the Blues by a convincing 36 points in Panther-Land. The Blues’ game plan may be planned around containing and stopping the Terrigal forward line, with Harrison Pitt kicking 6 goals and Alec Walters belting 5 in their last meeting. So much is on the line for the Blues who a desperate to override the Bulldogs for the Minor Premiership, and for Terrigal who may well meet the Blues in Finals action. Welcome to the trailer of September. It’s go time in all 4 quarters.
In Newcastle, stakes are higher than the goal posts as the Marlins prepare to take the Bulldogs for a nice swim in the muddy fields at Feighan Oval. This one? An absolute must-win for Nelson Bay. The stage is set for a battle of survival. The Bulldogs, fierce at the top of the ladder, guard their kennel with everything to gain as they look to secure their club’s first Black Diamond Cup. Across from them, the Marlins thrash desperately in shallow waters, their finals lifeline slipping fast. For the Bulldogs, victory gifts them the Minor Premiership. For the Marlins, defeat could be the final harpoon through their season. The Marlins are haunted, not by fisherman, but by a single stat: they have not won against a team in the Top 4 this season. Bateau Bay, Cardiff, Killarney Vale and Maitland have all been toppled by the Round 5 Reserve Grade recruitments. Their brand of footy put them in Cup, but can it put them on the biggest stage of all, Grand Final Day?
It doesn’t sound easy; beating Warners Bay. In any other round, a loss would be sufficient and become a singular number in the loss collum on the ladder. But in Round 17, it’s simply not.
This weekend Killarney Vale play Bateau Bay. Another Central Coast Showdown for the ages. Red and black vs the blue and yellow. After Killarney Vale’s fairly strong season, and Bateau Bay struggling a little, you’d think Killarney Vale would potentially win. If Nelson Bay lose to the Dogs, and the Bombers win, the two fairy tales implode. Killarney Vale soar past to enter their first potential Grand Final since 2023, whilst Nelson Bay wash ashore, a season to be so proud of, but missing from Finals action, after weeks of holding court in 4th position.
But it’s not all over. Bateau Bay await. Only 2 total wins, each over the Maitland Saints this year. Pride is everything. And it’s on the line when they play Killarney Vale. They may be out of the Finals race, but they play a massive part in the Finals race still. Nelson Bay will want Bateau Bay to win. It’s all on the line at Feighan and Adeliade Street Ovals respectively.
The Maitland Saints host the Cardiff Hawks at the under-construction Max McMahon from 2.00PM onwards. The Saints march into battle carrying the weight of pride and momentum, their halo glowing brighter each week. But standing in their way are the Hawks, circling above with sharp eyes and sharper talons, ready to swoop down and tear apart any weakness. It’s faith versus flight, grit versus glide — a contest where the Saints will look to hold their ground, while the Hawks aim to rise higher and claim the skies. For these two teams, unfortunately finals is out of the equation, but they will no doubt be ready to pounce in the 2026 competition.
Women’s Cup
The Women’s Cup has saved its drama for the final round, and the stakes could not be higher. With six of the seven sides set to march into finals, only one will be left behind — and it all comes down to Singleton’s last throw of the dice. The Roosters host the ever-sporting Warners Bay Bulldogs, needing nothing short of a massive winning margin to flip the ladder on its head and send the Doggies crashing out of the top six. The last time these sides met, Warners Bay had the answers in a 21-point win, but Singleton now face a simple truth: play hard, or their season is finished.
Meanwhile, the Cardiff Hawks enjoy a perfectly timed bye, perched above the chaos and sharpening their talons for a genuine crack at stealing their first ever premiership.
City march into this clash with every reason to feel confident — their last meeting in Round 11 ended in a shutout, with Terrigal unable to find the scoreboard. The Blues have been ruthless in their run to September, and with finals looming, they’ll look to flex their muscle once more. For Terrigal, it’s about pride, resilience, and proving they can land a punch when it matters most.
The reigning premiers, Killarney Vale, know how to time their run and will bring the power game that’s made them feared across the competition. But Bateau Bay have their own statement to make. After slipping against the Roosters, they need a big win here to show they’re more than just passengers in the finals race. It’s a clash of intent — the Bombers aiming to defend their crown, and the Bay desperate to prove they belong in the September spotlight.
Top of Form
As the final siren draws near on the home-and-away season, every contest this weekend carries weight — some with finals positions on the line, others with reputations to uphold. The Men’s Cup shapes as a proving ground for the heavyweights and the hopefuls alike, while in the Women’s Cup the drama of the top-six squeeze ensures every kick, every mark, and every goal could reshape the ladder. From desperate Roosters to determined Bulldogs, from soaring Hawks to reigning Bombers, the path to September glory is being carved right now. One thing is certain: when the dust settles after this round, the storylines of triumph and heartbreak will set the stage for an unforgettable finals series.
