HSOB coach Danny Boyle said Reihana was a “huge part” of the club, and members wanted to celebrate his achievements.
“He gives a lot of his time to the club, and also trains kids’ teams,” Boyle said.
“He’s a really good club man.”
Boyle said HSOB would be without prop Myles Muir-Tawa, who would be playing in the East Coast competition, and their “flying Fijians”, who had moved south for work.
“We’ve got a good core of players, and we’ll make sure we have a team come this weekend.”
The club is in a rebuilding phase this season, and Boyle said he hopes to entice new players with what HSOB stands for, “a whanau club about having fun”.
YMP have looked like a well-oiled machine this year. With dangerous ball-runners across the park, their attacking prowess is unmatched.
This year they have continued to fine-tune their processes and have had three strong wins in the first round of competition.
Coach Brian Leach said they had been working at refining their game plan as their focus shifted to building intensity going into the playoffs.
He wants a tactical game from his team this weekend, with the backs given the width and depth to attack.
“I want to see strength in both the forwards and backs. I know our backs are all dangerous, but a lot of teams know we have a good backline and adjust.”
The hardest thing for Leach was narrowing down a playing 22. Exemplifying this are the YMP backs on the bench tomorrow. They include Matt Rutene, Peia Fililava and Brian Whaitiri-White.
Taine Aupouri will start at second five-eighth, with Steve Blake given a break after earning a spot in the starting 15 in previous weeks.
With YMP’s two preferred openside flankers Niko Lauti (hip) and Isaiah Leach (concussion) out, Brian Leach is interested to see how the loose forward trio of Fawn White, Willis Tamatea and Jesse Kapene fare.
Waikohu have a chance for redemption this weekend after the Lee Brothers Shield defending champions were defeated by previously struggling OBM.
After a dismal 2020 campaign, OBM look revitalised this year under coach Clint Pirihi.
He said Waikohu and YMP had established themselves as the in-form teams and OBM needed to be there with them.
“They’re playing some really good rugby; it’s on another level,” Pirihi said after watching replays of last weekend’s Money Round.
“They call it the business end of the competition . . . we need to step up, start improving and push through.”
The influence from the OBM leadership through captain Rikki Terekia, vice-captain Scott McKinley and experienced players such as Jake Holmes had been fundamental in leadership from the front, Pirihi said.
OBM will be bolstered this week with the reintroduction of prop Jamie Barnett and winger Keelan Poi, who scored a hat-trick in OBM’s 2019 final against YMP.
Waikohu have gone up a gear since their stumble out of the blocks on Tiny White Opening Day, a marked improvement in their game coming with each appearance.
They have bounced back with three back-to-back wins, including one against competition leaders YMP, and look strong going into the second round.
Waikohu player-coach Ra Broughton said his team had been focusing on refining their systems and structures this week.
“We’re more focused on what we’re up to than on getting redemption (for the first-round loss).”
His team had been fortunate to have strength in numbers this year, he said. Bench players had been able to maintain the tempo when they came on.
Waikohu captain Tane McGuire is out for at least a month after he tore his hamstring last weekend. Kelvin Smith will lead the team in his absence.
Playmaker Ethine Reeves returns to the Waikohu backline this weekend after he had last Saturday off to recover from some niggling injuries.
Ngatapa have a bye this week, but have looked strong in patches this season. Their forward pack have been dominant in patches but seemingly lack depth as they struggle when the less experienced reserves take over.
It will be interesting to see if they can translate work on their attacking structures and setpiece moves into success on the field.
Ngatapa have a strong core of players and an experienced and passionate coach in Stephen Hickey. It wouldn’t be surprising if they lifted their intensity as the result of each game became more important.
