HSOB’s opponents in Saturday’s do-or-die semifinal, Larsawn Ngatapa, have beaten the reigning champions twice this season — 16-10 in round 2 and 28-26 just two weeks ago.
Could it be coach Will Faulks and his Green Machine’s turn to add to their 2013 victory.
Not so fast.
Farmvets YMP have defeated the men from Patutahi two times out of their three meetings this season — 32-22 last weekend on their home ground and 14-12 at the Oval in round 1 (Ngatapa won 36-8 in round 2).
Will they win the shield?Does that then mean it’s the Reihana Wyllie-coached YMP’s time to shine? Will they collect the shield for the first time since 2010?
Perhaps not.
YMP’s semifinal opposition on Saturday is Stu Blair’s Enterprise Cars OBM, who the Magpies have failed to beat this season albeit not by much.
They drew 6-all in the opening game of the season, OBM won their round 2 clash 26-22 and were 16-8 victors in round 3.
When you consider that Aon Waikohu just missed out on a top-four playoffs place it’s not hard to see why this season has been one of the closest in many years.
You can throw in a few other variables to complicate it even more — Ngatapa having beaten every side at some stage over the season. OBM having lost all three of their clashes with HSOB, Waikohu’s upsetting HSOB 10-8 in round 2.
It is a classic case of anyone can win on the day; any one of the top four are capable of ending their season on a shield-winning high.
And while all four coaches will tell you that it is teamwork that will ultimately win the day, all four have key players who are potential game-changers or match-winners.
In No.8 Siosiua Moala, HSOB have a one-man wrecking machine. Had Moala not missed a huge chunk of the season with a shoulder injury he would have been a strong contender for the Most Valuable Player award (won by Waikohu’s Tapu Dixon).
A recent comebackMoala showed HSOB supporters what they had been missing when he made his comeback two weeks ago against Ngatapa.
While Ngatapa won a thriller 28-26 Moala came off the bench and with his first touch of the ball barged his way across for a try.
He also set up another — fly-swatting would-be tacklers before offloading to Viliama Kavi, who passed to hooker Kolo Fonohema who went over for the six-pointer.
Ngatapa have their own destroyer in Sione Ngatu, Poverty Bay’s most capped representative player.
Ngatu has missed a lot of games with a hand injury. But his return not only gives Ngatapa a feared weapon on attack and defence, his presence inspires those around him.
YMP skipper Willis Tamatea, runner-up to Dixon for the MVP award, is also a player who leads from the front. He can play at lock or in any of the loosie trio positions.
While not as physically intimidating as Moala or Ngatu, Tamatea has the edge when it comes to athleticism.
Blair has assembled a young side bursting with talent but the man who is making them tick is first-five-eighth Ethine Reeves, who transferred from Waikohu in May.
Reeves is the smallest of the four but lacks nothing in heart when it comes to putting his body on the line.
His linekicking is bettered only by HSOB general Scott Leighton.
But Leighton is more than just a kicker. He plays like an extra loose forward and is never afraid to mix it with the big boys.
Reeves' passing is superb and he is arguably the best linebreaker in the competition.
