Round eight of the premier Baywide rugby competition promises plenty with a number of clashes between sides locked together on the competition ladder.
Only one match - runaway leaders Tauranga Sports' against Rotoiti - is between teams more than four points apart, so there is sure to be plenty of jockeying going on with the competition's halfway mark just a week ahead.
The most important of all those tight tussles is likely to be that between Paroa and Rangataua at Lawson Park. Paroa, with five competition points, are just one point clear of last-placed Rangataua, who are yet to win a game. The sides are eight and nine points back of eighth-placed Rotoiti, and are likely to duel to stay in the top flight towards the end of the season.
While Rangataua are yet to win, they have conceded 107 points fewer than a Paroa side smarting after a number of heavy loses in the last few weeks. The promoted side sits one point clear of last place courtesy of an early season defeat of Greerton Marist, but the side has not got within 26 points of another side since.
Rangataua, on the other hand, have slowly accumulated four points for finishing within seven points of their opposition in more than half of their games this season. Narrow loses against the Mount, Te Puke, Te Puna and Rotoiti have stalled their season so far, but a decisive win against Paroa could see them kick on in the competition's second half.
Rangataua coach Paul Pou knows just how big Saturday's match will be. "It's a crucial game - a big one considering it's a bottom-of-the-table clash," said Pou. "This is probably the most important game that we will have all season, and we have to approach it like that."
Pou is lamenting a string of close loses.
"We should have won against Te Puna, we should have beaten Rotoiti on the weekend and we should have beaten Te Puke - we had enough ball to win. Then there was that game against the Mount - that chip and chase killed us in the last minute - it was so frustrating."
At the other end of the spectrum, Greerton Marist will put their five-game winning streak on the line against Te Puke Sports. The defending champions have had another disrupted week and face falling out of the top four for the first time this season with a loss.
In another contest between teams grouped together on the table, fifth-placed Whakarewarewa will tangle with sixth-placed Mount Maunganui. A win from either side could see them climb into the top four, while a buoyant Opotiki side will play Te Puna at Princess Street Reserve.
Tauranga Sports, who have opened up a nine-point lead on the chasing pack, will play Rotoiti in the round's other match.