Three teams that will determine, to a point, whether 2009 can be deemed a success or failure in terms of footballing performance.

Three teams just one win away from a grand final appearance and possibly the ultimate reward in team sport - a premiership.

Cootamundra’s reputation goes on the line on Sunday as the Women’s Strikers and Bulldogs Weissel Cup and reserve grade sides do battle in preliminary final matches in Junee and Wagga.

The Women Strikers, easily one of our most

successful senior football sides of the past decade, will be looking to secure yet another grand final berth when they tackle Henwood Park at Junee’s Burns Park.

On paper, the Strikers would be morals to progress through to the season decider, but as the girls found out in last week’s major semi final against old sparring partners Wagga United, there’s no such thing as a certainty in sport.

Ditto the Bulldogs Weissel Cup side.

They dominated this year’s under 18s

competition to the point they could have lost their last three regular games and still finished on top.

They were odds-on to take the direct path into the grand final.

Yet here they are, a week away from the biggest stage, battling for survival when they tackle Kangaroos at Wagga’s Equex Centre late on Sunday morning.

It’s a different scenario for the Bulldogs reserve graders.

They’ve had to work hard to earn the right to be one of the final three teams standing.

They’ve been playing cut throat football for the past two weeks - know what it’s like to perform under pressure.

That pressure valve won’t be released on Sunday as they take on Wagga Brothers, in fact it will be wound up a notch or two as, while the

winner will be embraced by the excitement that surrounds the build up to grand final day, the loser has nothing to look forward to other than Mad Monday.

So here we have it - three teams that had performed exceptionally well throughout the season.

Three teams that have the opportunity to take that final leap into a grand final encounter.

Three teams carrying the hopes of a town.