A win would have seen a home semifinal for the Hawks after the Taree side were upset by wooden spooners Old Bar on the same day, however the injury plagued Forster Tuncurry outfit were unable to produce a boil over of their own, finding the Tigers side a little too resilient in defence on their own patch of dirt.

The Wingham side have the advantage of depth throughout their club, finishing the regular season in second place in both first and reserve grade, and will host the major semi against the Port City Breakers on Sunday.

The Tigers however lost try scoring machine Tim Bridge mid-way through the first half of Saturday’s clash with the Hawks due to an ankle injury and it would be a huge blow to their title aspirations if he were to miss the finals series.

Bridge was confident that the damage wasn’t too severe when talking after the game but will know more after seeking a medical opinion.

The Port Macquarie Sharks finished as minor premiers and will have the first weekend of the semifinal series off before they entertain the winner of the Tigers/Breakers game in the grand final qualifier the following Sunday.

Forster Tuncurry coach Darren Pettet will be sweating on some good news from the sick bay during the week.

Team captain Matt Kirkland and young half Blake English have been sorely missed over the last fortnight and would be a welcome return to the starting side if fitness allows.

In-form backs Beau Lowry and Jake Bolt both missed the Wingham clash, picking up injuries during the loss to Macleay Valley the previous week.

Lowry suffered a slight concussion and will need a Dr’s clearance to return this weekend while Bolt picked up a leg injury. Taree City and Hawks have met three times so far in 2016 with the Tuncurry based side holding a 2-1 advantage.

The sides last met on July 30 at Taree with the Hawks prevailing 36-26.

Bulls coach Gary Bridge and Pettet are in the same boat regarding injuries and depth throughout their respective clubs and will need to rely on their younger brigade if they are to proceed beyond Saturdays do or die clash.

Pettet has blooded under 18s speedster Kobi Simon in recent weeks and the young winger has been solid, scoring a classy try against the strong Wingham defence on Saturday.

The Hawks League Tag side will face rivals Old Bar in the elimination semifinal on the same day as their first grade club-mates.

Despite only being able to field the bare minimum 11 players, the Hawks ran out comfortable 52-4 winners against an enthusiastic but ultimately outclassed Wingham side.

The Forster Tuncurry ladies will look to the experience of players such as Kylie Hilder, Ash Alcorn and Lisa Bullivant to steer their young team mates around versus an Old Bar side that will field a host of former Hawks premiership winning players.

Saturday should see the return of Hawks representative fullback Talara Morris from injury.

This weekend’s fixtures: Saturday’s semifinals at Taree: league tag, Forster Tuncurry v Old Bar kicking off at 10.50am, under 18s, Wauchope v Old Bar at noon, reserve grade, Port City v Macleay Valley at 1.20pm and first grade, Taree City v Forster Tuncurry at 3pm.

Sunday’s major semifinals at Wingham, league tag, Taree City v Wauchope, kicking off at 10.50am, under 18s,Taree City v Port Sharks at noon, reserve grade, Wingham District v Port Sharks at 1.20pm and first grade, Wingham District v Port City at 3pm under 18s and reserve grade.

Both the Hawks under 18s and reserve grade sides’ seasons are over after failing to qualify for the play offs.

The young Hawks finished their season in style with a 26-14 win over Wingham.

The majority of this team will still qualify for the under 18s competition next year and the experience gained during the 2016 season will no doubt hold them in good stead.

The reserve grade Hawks seemed to have a huge problem with both fitness and commitment, with injuries and outside influences causing the side to field more than 50 different players during the season.

At the year’s end, the side had to rely on players from the under 18s backing up straight after the completion of their own games to make up enough numbers to avoid forfeiting matches.