The dream swansong for their outgoing coach and mentor Craig Cumming is alive after the Otago Sparks inked in Grand Final direct entry, with defending champion the Blaze and Northern Brave to meet in Saturday's Elimination Final.
Wet weather at the Cello Basin Reserve today doomed the Wellington Blaze v Northern Brave match to a washout, with only one innngs possible.
The two points that Brave picked up as a consequence was a heartbreaker for the Auckland Hearts who got knocked out of Finals contention by the Brave as a result.
Jess Watkin's Brave women now head into their second Elimination Final in the space of two years - hoping of course to go one better than last year when they qualified second, but were beaten in the sudden death match by the Central Hinds, after a Claudia Green hat-trick.
Jess Watkin | PHOTOSPORT
The Brave has made the Finals weekend in both the men's and women's divisions, but while the men have won the title in recent seasons, for the Northern women this is still fairly new territory: last season was the first time they had made the top three.
The Brave are rapidly growing in prowess and Melie Kerr's Blazies, regular Finalists and champions in recent years, are under no illusion that it is a tougher trek to the Grand Final this summer, setting up an exciting clash on Saturday.
PHOTOSPORT
Last season Blaze flew straight into an Auckland Grand Final by virtue of having been the top qualifier, but this time they have to take the long route - and overcome the burgeoning Brave - after the Otago Sparks controlled the top of the table.
The Sparks have had a blinder of a season, winning seven of their three regular season rounds - and they beat the formidable Blaze not once, but twice.
By the time of Sunday's Grand Final, they will have been out of action and watching on for a whole week, but coach Cumming will have been keeping them on target for their best shot at the title since they last won it in 2016/17; they also finished runner-up to the Blaze three years ago.
The Blaze have ended up with six wins from their 10 rounds, and like the Sparks, lost only three games. The Brave took four wins, but also had bad luck on the weather front, suffering three washouts.
Each remaining team has everything to play for this weekend, with tickets to the capital Finals on Saturday and Sunday on sale now at www.supersmash.co.nz