The Strikers put themselves in a powerful position after rallying from a goal down in the final quarter to defeat Western Australia 2-1 on Saturday night in Sydney.

It's also sudden death for the Canberra Lakers, who must beat the highly-ranked Victorian side on Monday to progress to the knockout stages of the men's tournament in Darwin.

The Lakers lost 3-0 to WA on Saturday night and are third in their pool behind WA (six points) and Victoria (three), with Canberra and South Australia level on one point each.

The Strikers are also on three points and are equal second behind NSW (six) and WA (three), with those teams facing each other on Monday in the final pool round.

The Strikers were in danger of being relegated to the consolation rounds trailing WA 1-0 with one quarter to play, but goals to Laura Grey and Catriona Bailey-Price saved the day.

Strikers coach Mark Stafford made a couple of critical tactical changes going into the last quarter that proved to be the difference.

"We stayed in the game right until the end and when it came to crunch time the girls came home really well," Stafford said.

"We just changed up a few players, we moved a few players forward that were a few fresh legs and different people up front that threw the opposition out.

"They weren't sure what was coming at them."

Tasmania is winless from their two games, but Stafford said that didn't mean his team could afford to take them lightly.

"We've got to go out there with the proper mindset, it's another tough game," he said.

"They're one of these sides that haven't got that superstar quality, but they've got a good bunch of girls that can play together.

"They were in the game against WA and they were also in the game against NSW, but it's when they leak one goal, they seem to leak three."