Royals surprised ladder-leading Lake Albert with a 2-2 draw in division one men’s hockey at Jubilee Park on Saturday. Lake Albert were on top early with Ben Baker landing a signature strike, but Royals had other ideas. Meanwhile, reigning premiers CSU-Rivcoll downed Harlequins 32 on the back of two goals from Brendan Watson. HOT PURSUIT: Lake Albert's Ben Baker is chased by Royals' Jarrod Thorne at Jubilee Park on Saturday. Picture: Les Smith
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Heat kept in the dark on playoff prospects after season finale BASKETBALL BY NICOLAS JUNGFER
Heat’s playoff WAGGA dreams have been plunged into uncertainty more than 24 hours after the regular season’s conclusion, due to confusion surrounding the Waratah League’s playoff
qualification system. The uncertainty stems from four teams finishing the season having played one less game than everyone else, following multiple cancellations. The Heat are currently listed in ninth-place on the Waratah League website and
face the prospect of missing out on the playoffs despite having one more win than eighth-placed Coffs Harbour Suns. The Suns have a superior winning percentage, which was helped by not playing the entire season. Heat coach Colin Reed
made multiple unsuccessful phone calls to Basketball NSW on Monday in an attempt to ascertain whether the ladder listed online was accurate, given the unique circumstances. Basketball NSW also did not return calls from The Daily Advertiser.
Reed is hoping to hear of a conclusive ruling soon, saying the bizarre situation had left the team in an awkward position. “It’s quite an odd spot to be in,” Reed said. “I’ve also got an import to manage. “He wants to go home and
see his family, he hasn’t seen them in 12 months.” The Heat are coming off a taxing road doubleheader, going down to third-placed Canberra 87-68 on Saturday, before smacking winless Illawarra 106-64 on Sunday. Zac Maloney dropped 34 points on the Hawks.