The Canberra Strikers are confident they will be more than nuisance value for the bigger states after qualifying for last four of the Australian Hockey League with a 4-1 thrashing of Tasmania on Monday.  
Three successful penalty flicks from Anna Flanagan and another goal to fellow Hockeyroo Edwina Bone ensured they secured their second win in three games in the Sydney-based tournament. 
The Strikers will now take on the top two from the other pool in Queensland and Victoria on Tuesday and Thursday. 
Realistically they must win both to qualify for Friday's gold medal clash, and if not they will play off for bronze. 
Having already gone one better than last year's fifth-place finish, Bone believes they have the personnel to be giant killers when medals go on the line. 
"It was definitely our aim to finish higher than last year and after our performance against WA [2-1 win] we were confident we'd be successful," Bone said. 
"It's going to be a challenge for us, but we're playing well so far and we can only get better. 
"Queensland has a really good outfit on paper and Victoria are really strong, [but] we've got a better team this year and we're pretty confident going into those games."
Several Canberra players, including Flanagan and Bone, are based in WA but put their hand up every year to play in the tournament. 
"One of the things I really look forward to is playing for the ACT, it's the girls I've grown up playing with," Bone said.
"I can't imagine playing for another state. We started there, and we wanted to stay there."
Strikers coach Mark Stafford said the tightness of the team will hold them in good stead going forward. 
"We had a tough draw to start with but they showed their mettle through that, and now we move onto another phase," he said. 
"We've got camaraderie and with that, you're always a chance."
Meanwhile, in the men's tournament in Darwin, the Canberra Lakers are out of medal contention after drawing 2-all with Victoria. ???