FAN IN THE STAND: Dare to believe in Bay's fine form

Warning. This column contains opinions of an optimistic nature. While I understand that you pessimists normally feel right at home with the Fan in the Stand, might I suggest you switch to the crossword (even though you know you won't finish it).
Three pre-season games, three wins, tries aplenty and Waikato put in their rightful place. I must admit to a small feeling of trepidation in the cowshed when we slipped to an early 21-3 deficit against the Mooloos last week but we rallied magnificently and took a deserved win.
The Fan used to think it was the incompetent New Zealand Rugby Union who had accidentally omitted our local rivalry from the fixture list for three seasons.
Now it seems more likely that the Waikato Union has been running scared and bribed the NZRU to avoid humiliation.
Did I mention that Waikato hasn't beaten the Steamers in the provincial championship since 2003?
So what has generated this excessive optimism? Firstly the forwards are doing their job. Our scrum has been competitive, the front row has been into everything in the loose and, wonder of wonders, we are winning our own line-out ball.
Maybe the sudden departure of Simms Davison and Ben Castle will help the next generation of props to develop while Marcel Cummings-Toone has been on fire so far _ just in time to get injured, unfortunately.
We have depth in the loose forwards, with both Tanerau Latimer and Luke Braid rested from the 22 against Waikato. Jamie Nutbrown and Mike Delany are now an experienced pair and the backline has hummed with the new additions slotting in well.
Regular watchers of the IRB sevens circuit will already know Nigel Hunt's potential, so I'm saying a little prayer that he avoids the injury problems that always seem to strike our midfield weapons.
Zar Lawrence looked superb in the sevens this year and, running at fullback for the Bay, should have the pace and size to cope, leaving Lance MacDonald to play on the wing. I'd like to see Lance popping up in the midfield, where his twinkling feet and pace can cause problems for lumbering forwards.
The major concern is obviously our defence leaking tries, although this is often an issue in pre-season games and hopefully the intensity of fighting for competition points will resolve this.
It is great news about the lowering of ticket prices and the Fan in the Stand heartily applauds the Bay union for taking this positive step. It makes it affordable for a family to see the rugby from the best seats and should mean healthy crowds to cheer on the team.
A bonus will be crowded stands on TV again as an enticement for armchair viewers to see what they're missing.
We travel to Blenheim for the opener against Tasman today, followed by Counties-Manukau in Rotorua. To be in the hunt for a top-eight spot, these look like games we must win before the sterner challenge of the bigger unions looms.