Footscray will face its ultimate test in defence of top spot in the Hockey Victoria women’s premier league.
The Bulldogs will be challenged by second-placed Hawthorn in a blockbuster at Hawthorn-Malvern Hockey Centre on Saturday.
It is the first time this season the sides have crossed paths and it could be a grand final preview.
Footscray’s only loss of the season came in round eight against Southern United.
The Bulldogs have returned to form with four wins and a draw in their past five games to head into the Hawthorn battle with confidence.
Footscray were made to work hard for a 2-1 win over Doncaster at the Footscray Hockey Centre on Saturday. Olivia Colasurdo and Shaunda Ikegwuonu hit the back of the net for the Bulldogs.
In men’s premier league, Footscray maintained its pursuit of a finals’ berth with a memorable 2-0 win over premiership contenders Doncaster.
The Bulldogs inflicted just the second defeat of the season on second-placed Doncaster.
Liam Braithwaite and Robert Wilson scored for Footscray in the upset victory.
Altona is riding high in third place after a nail-biting 2-1 win over MCC.
Goals from Andrew Scanlon and Matthew Barnett did the trick for Altona.
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