Te Waiariki Maori coach Murray Sturt wants his side to play a free-flowing, expansive style of rugby in the Baywide Pro 4 series.
They start the new series, which was created to get more players and coaches involved in representative rugby, against Western Bay of Plenty in Matata today The series comprises three weeks of round robin fixtures, with finals on September 2 at Eastern Districts Rugby Football Club in Paengaroa.
Sturt said his squad had a good mix of experience and "raw talent".
"The experienced guys like Whakataki Cunningham and Baden Wardlaw [who were Baywide premier finalists with Rotoiti] will help lift the less experienced players.
"They're leaders and they lead by example.