Its the mini-playoff series that will determine the final two teams in the NRL top eight.During the final four weeks of the season, the teams sitting seventh to 10th on the ladder will largely battle it out among themselves to decide who will reach the finals.Penrith, the Warriors and Wests Tigers are on 24 points each heading into this weekends clashes, with Gold Coast a further point behind in 10th.If that wasnt tight enough, all four teams will face each other across the next three weeks in a series of pivotal clashes.The action starts this Saturday with the Titans taking on the in-form Tigers at Campbelltown.In round 24, its the Tigers again facing a finals-chasing rival when they travel to Penrith to take on the Panthers.If the picture isnt any clearer by then, round 25 the following week will pit all four teams against each other, with the Warriors hosting the Tigers and the Titans welcoming the Panthers to Robina.Titans hooker Nathan Peats has labelled this weekends clash with the Tigers as defining and is only too aware of the games that await in the coming weeks.Everyones playing each other, those four sides competing for those two spots, Peats said.If youre good enough to make it, you deserve to be there because youve got to play everyone.Its going to be a tough couple of weeks for all four sides. The two best sides will obviously make it.Nothing better illustrates the tightness of the contest than the Titans, who entered last weekend in seventh but had all three of their rivals leapfrog them after a 24-14 loss to the Warriors at Robina.Weve still got four big games to go and well see at the end of round 26 if we deserve to be there, Peats said.RACE TO THE EIGHT - The run home for the last four finals hopefulsPenrith (7th, 24 pts) - Knights (A), Tigers (H), Titans (A), Manly (H)Warriors (8th, 24 pts) - Rabbitohs (H), Cowboys (A), Tigers (H), Eels (H)Tigers (9th, 24 pts) - Titans (H), Panthers (A), Warriors (A), Raiders (H)Titans (10th, 23 pts) - Tigers (A), Knights (A), Panthers (H), Cowboys (A) Nike Shoes Sale .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. Cheap Nike Shoes . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. https://www.wholesalenikeshoesauthentic.com/ .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Cheap Nike Shoes Free Shipping . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. Cheap Nike Shoes From China . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. NORFOLK, Va. -- You cant call the Delaware Blue Hens underdogs in field hockey any longer.Just call them national champions.A late goal by national scoring leader Greta Nauck snapped a 2-2 tie and lifted Delaware to a 3-2 decision over North Carolina, which was played out at Old Dominions L.R. Hill Sports Complex on a blustery Sunday afternoon.Nauck came into the postgame news conference 30 minutes after the final horn cradling the game-winning ball as if it were a fine piece of crystal, rarely letting her eyes stray from its white crevices.My coach told me to keep it with me forever, she said through her soft German accent. Im going to put it in a special place in my room.As time wound down on the clock, Blue Hens fans (including the two busloads who made the five-hour trek down the Eastern Shore) chanted, We believe that we can win.The team with the Why not us? attitude ended the season by bringing home its first national championship in the sport and only the second NCAA title in any sport for Delaware (womens lacrosse in 1983 is the other).The Hens (23-2) spilled onto each other in front of the cage at the final horn in a symbolic scene for a field hockey celebration.We did it, the players exclaimed through hugs and tears. The Blue Hens mascot strutted over from the stands, the school radio station went crazy and the band played the alma mater, while Michaela Scanlon lay flat on her back while teammates screamed national champion in her ear.In contrast, the Tar Heels walked off arm in arm, wiping away quiet tears and disappearing into their locker room.But the Blue Hens looked like they never wanted to leave the scene, with their handling of the trophy resembling the passing of the Stanley Cup. Kayla Devlin kissed it, Lisa Giezeman called for her father, Papa, come for a pic, while Lauren Crudele nearly dropped it.Thats how she plays, joked coach Rolf van de Kerkhof while holding the coveted prize that he promised to bring home to Delaware when he took over the program in 2011.Back then, the Blue Hens finished with a losing record, including a 6-0 drubbing by the Tar Heels during the regular season when talk of an NCAA title would have been preposterous.You have to build, van de Kerkhof stressed. We have grown now for four years. We have matured. And we have gotten better every year. The gap with the top teams four years ago ... has closed. I like to believe that maybe because of what we did today, Delaware is a force to be reckoned with and that we are a top team.The Blue Hens looked like the better team in the first 35 minutes, getting an early goal from Nauck and a second from Meghan Winesett, who flicked it into an open cage after a sleek pass from Esmee Peet.The Tar Heels were sharper in the second, keeping possession in their end of the field and gaining an early goal from ACC scoring leader Lauren Moyer. When Megan DuVernois evened the score in the 62nd minute, it appeared as if all the momentum had shifted back to the Tar Heels, but Delaware refused to wilt.And North Carolina coach Karen Shelton admitted a costly error hurt the Tar Heels here.Tayylor Lister intercepted an ill-fated aerial shot by freshman Eef Andriessen.dddddddddddd It set up an easy goal for Nauck, who tapped it in for a school-record 33rd of the season with just under six minutes left.One big mistake cost us a goal, Shelton said. I love that kid. She was trying to make a play. A lot of mistakes go into a game like this. This particular one, it was a big one.North Carolina pulled its goalie from there, but the Tar Heels earned no more significant chances -- stunning for a team that had outshot its opponent 16-5 and allowed just one corner to its seven.This makes two glorious weekends of field hockey for the Blue Hens, who blanked Louisville, revived themselves from a 2-0 hole against top-seeded Duke and scored in the waning minutes in Fridays semifinal against Princeton to pit themselves against six-time champion North Carolina.The formula? De-ho, a term van de Kerkhof coined for Delaware hockey, which translates to an attacking style that doesnt deviate from an aggressive approach regardless of the opponent.We play to win, said van de Kerkhof, whose team won its 19th straight and has not lost since falling on Sept. 11 to Princeton. No overtime -- although we do pretty well in those situations, too.As for the Tar Heels (20-6), they go home empty-handed again, having advanced to five championship games in the past seven years; last winning it all in 2009. Since then, theyve fallen to Princeton on this very same field, suffered two overtime losses to Maryland and now a loss to unseeded Delaware.The Tar Heels were missing starter Kristy Bernatchez, who suffered concussion-like symptoms after being hit in the head with a ball on Friday. That moved Ashley Hoffman from midfield to defense.Shelton, a five-time national coach of the year, said coping with this result will take some time for her and her players.Each year is different, said Shelton, whose team had something of a roller-coaster season. The Tar Heels started the season ranked No. 1, lost their first game, and didnt win an ACC title but defeated Stanford and Maryland on the road to reach the final four. On Friday, they handed UConn only its second loss of the season to reach their 17th title game.It was a fantastic year. I do think we had the ability to do it. We had our chances, Shelton said. It hurts. I cant say that it doesnt. It hurts bad. I love the University of North Carolina, and Im absolutely driven to bring distinction to the university. First is a lot different than second. I hate to say it -- and it shouldnt be that big of a difference -- but it sure is.When two teams vie for an NCAA title, only one goes home a winner. On this day, it was Delaware.My husband had a dream last night we lost the game by the score of 3-2, Mary van de Kerkhof said after kissing her husband as he scooped up their sons in front of the dog pile at the final horn.Except for that one, just about every dream came true for the Blue Hens and their fans this weekend. ' ' '