AS women's hockey sides prepare for the start of the JH Williams Premier League this weekend, the field is wide open in terms of who will emerge on top.

The Premier League pits teams from across the Northern Rivers area against each other, giving the Lismore and Tweed players a bit more variety and an opportunity to test and improve their games.

I think the field has really evened out.

The strong teams like Glee, East Lismore, Waratahs and Casuarina will be favourites, but they may not be as strong as they used to be.

It could be an opportunity for some of the minnows to step up and assert some dominance.

The first game of the weekend pits Casuarina against East Lismore at Murwillumbah, from 2.25pm.

Casuarina is coming off a big win over Waratah Falcons and will be hoping to continue its good form.

Casuarina's young players Keely Murray and Maddie Fitzpatrick are settling well into the top grade.

The amount of youth in the Casuarina side makes it an unpredictable opponent – on a good day the team is the best in the competition, but on other days its inexperience shows.

In the other game at Murwillumbah, Kingscliff and Mullumbimby have a rematch at 6.40pm.

Last week Kingscliff got the 2-1 win, but my team, Mullum, squandered numerous attacking opportunities in the second half and will be keen to reverse last week's result.

Our forward line will be boosted with the strike power of Samantha Iwanuscha, who returns from injury.

I am sure Kingscliff will be hungry to improve on its effort and will be desperate to keep the wood over us.

Waratahs, meanwhile, are struggling, after dropping to a 4-nil loss to Casuarina.

They remain the top team in the JH Williams Cup, but not by much.

Perhaps the heavy defeat will inspire the players to greater heights in Premier League and they will want to bounce back against Northern Star at Ballina from 2.55pm.

With the departure of long-time servant David Reading, the Falcons were bound to have some teething problems this season.

Their two coaches, Candis Henry and Amy Paron are new to the caper and this is fresh ground for them.

In the final game Glee and Ballina do battle at 5.45pm.