There's a goalkeeper who has been in excellent touch after five years out of the sport and there's an association which has overcome struggles to have two finals contenders.

There are more potential comebacks brewing as well - get up to date with them in this week's edition of Drag Flick:

IT was not all that long ago that Stephanie Hinds sat in the category of former premier league players, but now she's back padding up every Saturday and loving it.

Now in her second season as Souths' goalkeeper, Hinds has been in superb form and one of the big reasons why the two blues are on track for finals hockey.

"Last year was my first year in five years. I started with Ex-Services, I then played for Confederates, who are now United ... I left for job purposes and I had no intent to come back. But I got asked to come back last year," she said.

"This is definitely my outlet, outside of hockey the girls are awesome, they're just so supportive, it's why I keep coming back."

In last Saturday's 2-0 win against St Pat's Hinds made a string of quality saves and didn't concede once from nine penalty corners. She was Souths' deserved players' player.

It took a penalty stroke to beat her and even then Hinds very nearly came up with the save.

"This is the reason I play, it's games like this," she said.

"The girls worked hard, they tackled really well, they kept the talk up, the one-two passes were great, I couldn't have asked for a better outcome except more goals for us.

"The stroke, it nicked off my stick, I deflected it in. I think if I was that little bit quicker I would've got it."

READ MORE: Souths defeats St Pat's for a second time this season

PULLING off a Premier League Hockey title double - it's something that Lithgow is in contention for and St Pat's as well, but there's another dark horse still in the race.

It's Parkes.

While Parkes has been a force in seasons past, in recent years wins have been harder to come by and pulling together competitive playing rosters tough.

But now, using a mixture of emerging talents and more experienced campaigners has the Parkes men sitting third and women in fourth.

Their spots are by no means assured, but the prospect of competing in both finals series is exciting.

"It would be massive, especially since both teams have had some rebuilding years," women's co-coach Casey Miles said.

"Like we didn't have teams for a couple of years because the juniors didn't want to commit and the seniors, some of them started feeling like they'd run their course with premier league.

"But being able to make a few changes, for us bringing in some of those younger girls who thought they might not have been ready for premier league but have surprised themselves, the team, the coaches, has been great.

"Getting young players to step up for both the men and the women and having some of the senior players who have that experience in premier league help guide them, it's huge for Parkes hockey."

The men's competition has a three-team finals series. Lithgow Storm and Pat's are already safely through and if Parkes can beat Orange Wanderers this Saturday they'll almost certainly join them.

For the Parkes women, holding onto fourth won't be easy but is a possibility. They'll face lower ranked Orange CYMS and Orange United as well as currently second placed St Pat's in the run to finals.

But even if Parkes doesn't qualify one or both of its sides, this season points to bigger things lying in wait.

"We've got a lot of junior representation in state teams ... so juniors in Parkes are up and coming players and it's good to have those premier league sides there to help them develop," Miles said.

"If both teams made finals it would be amazing for Parkes, it would like being reborn again. That's what it feels like, you've got to have that nice mix of senior and junior players to be able to compete in the premier league competition and I feel like Parkes has probably nailed that this year.

"But even if we don't make it, we're excited for next year because we've got all these young ones now that have experienced premier league and know what's expected of them."

READ MORE: Bathurst City drops out of women's Central West Premier League Hockey top four

GREATER possession, better field position, more circle penetrations, more penalty corners - the statistics all looked good for St Pat's last Saturday but there was one critical area which cost them.

The Saints did not have the most goals and it meant that local rivals Souths handed them defeat for the second time in the women's competition this year.

Though this time the difference at full-time was one goal instead of five, the frustration was still there.

Yes Souths came up with defensive brilliance when it mattered. Yes the Saints had some key players out. Yes Pat's stays in second.

But are the Saints still missing the killer touch in the circle? That's a yes too.

Jaden Ekert, the last coach to guide the Saints women to a premiership, was overseeing things on Saturday.

He stressed the players are working hard to improve, but concedes they still haven't translated that to game day.

"We got pumped 6-1 by Souths in the first game, so it's a step forward yes. Bec [Clayton, coach] has implemented a lot of good things with these girls," Ekert said.

"It is more about how we articulate it on the field. We had a great preparation, training was awesome and even that game showed how good we can be.

"It's just at those critical times we need to put the ball away. Hopefully we can start doing that."

READ MORE: Slow start, missed opportunities cost St Pat's in derby

BATHURST City have managed to turn plenty of heads with the way that they've gone about their hockey.

The team slipped out of the top four after last round's 1-0 loss to Parkes, but have had plenty of reasons to feel pleased with their hockey, especially on the defensive front.

With a young and developing team to work with, coach Mal Willott has been impressed by the way his group have gone about their hockey.

The team are only two points away from Parkes in the fight for fourth, with three rounds remaining, and the Bathurst side have already served both their byes.

Willott said what matters most is that the atmosphere at the club is currently a great thing to be around.

"It's not all about winning. The had a great time with the bus trip up, all with their Hawaiian shirts on. The important thing is that they're all enjoying their hockey," he said.

"Winning would have been a bonus. You've got to remember that not everyone can win.

"One of the girls said today that compared to last year it feels like a big bonus for the club to be in fourth. If we can get back up there then that would be great, but it is what it is."

The run home is brutal for City, to say the least.

With games against Souths, Panthers and St Pat's to come over the last three rounds it's going to take some exceptional hockey for the team to join the finals hunt.

But the young side will be playing fearless hockey, with the long-term picture for the club still in mind.

READ MORE: Souths and St Pat's fight for finals positions in women's Central West Premier League Hockey derby

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