Here's a line few would imagine they would read during this year's ANZ Championship: The Mainland Tactix are in the box seat to claim the final spot in the New Zealand conference finals.
The Tactix, whose record over the past six seasons reads - 10th, 10th, ninth, 10th, 10th, 10th - are a strong chance for next month's playoffs.
The unbeaten Southern Steel have an unassailable lead atop the New Zealand conference, while the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic secured their place in the playoffs with three rounds remaining when they notched their fifth straight win last week.
Now the battle is on for the third and final spot, with the Tactix, Northern Mystics and Central Pulse all in the hunt.
In truth, all three teams have underperformed. The fact one of them will be contesting the playoffs is another black mark against the much-maligned conference system, which was introduced last season.
But it's all a moot point now. The transtasman league is to be disestablished at the end of this season. Soon there'll be no more conference systems, no more tinkering with the draw, and no more hand-wringing over competitive imbalances. All that's left is to watch the ANZ Championship peter out to its timely death.
It is safe to say the teams don't intend to let the league go gently into that good night.
Competition for places in both the New Zealand and Australian conference finals is exceptionally tight, albeit for different reasons.
In Australia, there are four strong teams battling it out for three spots; in New Zealand there are three really quite average teams battling it out for one remaining position.
Of those three, the Tactix appear to be best-placed to take out third spot on the ladder. The Canterbury side sit on equal points with the Mystics with an underwhelming record of two wins and a draw after 11 rounds.
Although the Auckland side have the advantage in goal percentage (which will be used to separate the teams if they finish on equal points), the Tactix have a game in hand and the easier run into the playoffs. They will meet the bottom-placed Pulse on Monday night, before taking on the Thunderbirds in Adelaide and finish up with the Mystics in Auckland in round 14.
The Mystics have the star power, but with a bye this weekend, they're no longer in control of their own destiny.
Having failed to deliver on their immense potential - a perennial problem for the Auckland side - they now must rely on other results going their way to book their place in the playoffs. They also have to take on one of the competition heavyweights, the NSW Swifts, over the final rounds - a match-up that has the potential to dent their goal percentage significantly.
Then there is the Pulse. With match-ups against the West Coast Fever and Melbourne Vixens still to come, the Wellington-based side's chances appear purely mathematical.
But a win against the Tactix on Monday night would put them on level pegging with their two rivals for a playoff spot, making for a fittingly bizarre close to the final season of the championship.
