Added incentive for maximum points

As if the fact their semi-final spots will be on the line won't be incentive enough, Gladstone and Carterton have been provided an extra reason to claim maximum points in their Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby match at Gladstone tomorrow.
Mindful they are the only two rugby clubs in the Carterton district which is in the process of celebrating its 150th birthday, officials from both entities have decided to mark the occasion by joining together to purchase a trophy which will be held for all time by the winning side.
And to add to the occasion the feature game will be preceded by matches involving JAB teams, golden oldies and senior thirds.
It is remarkable that anything but a win won't be enough for Gladstone to make it through to the semi-finals of the first division series.
So dominant were they in securing the Chris Kapene Memorial Trophy for heading the competition table at the end the grading round it appeared just a matter of course they would dominate the main championship qualifying round as well.
But, as it happens, the wheels have fallen off big time and with just one win from four matches they can thank the bonus point system for even making a semi-final berth possible when the qualifying round draws to a close tomorrow.
Their number of bonus points, four, equals exactly the number of points they picked up for their one win.
It is surprising too that Carterton are in a position where they also could find themselves eliminated from semi-finals contention.
After all, they are the defending champions and not making the top four would represent quite a drop from grace in the space of just 12 months.
Carterton do have the comfort though of knowing that a draw tomorrow would be enough to guarantee them a semi-final position and that even if they lose they could still sneak in if other results go their way.
Having that in mind, one could anticipate the tactical approach of the two sides being somewhat different through the early stages at least, with Gladstone intent on placing the emphasis on all out attack and Carterton adopting a somewhat more conservative game plan.
If that is the case then Gladstone will need forwards such as Andrew McLean, Steve Wilkinson, Kurt Simmonds and Mike Spence to supply a regular supply of quality possession so that backs like James Bruce (if he is back from injury), George Williams, Mike Shaw, Angus Crisp and Matt Easton can cut loose.
Whether that will happen though is the $64,000 question as Carterton are strong in the ball-winning departments up front with tough nuts Joe Harwood and Mosese Sela anchoring their scrum and Tomasi Kedarabuka arguably the best lineout jumper in the region.
And in Justin Lett and Nathan Sanson they have an inside back combination with the kicking game to keep their pack on the front foot.
Whichever way you look at it a close, tense encounter seems assured with the result very probably in doubt right up until the final whistle.
Pioneer v Greytown-Tuhirangi
Gladstone and Carterton won't be the only first division teams in survival mode tomorrow so will Pioneer and Greytown-Tuhirangi when they meet at the Park Sportsground in Masterton.
Of the two, Pioneer is certainly better placed in the battle for semi-final spots as the four points available for a win would be enough to make them safe.
Greytown-Tuhirangi, for their part, need to pick five points four for the win and a bonus point for four or more tries and even then they would be relying on other results going their way as well.
That Pioneer have been the revelation of the qualifying round cannot be debated.
Three weeks ago they were on the end of a 50-point thumping from Gladstone and their top four hopes seemed done and dusted.
That they have bounced back with wins over Marist and Gladstone speaks volumes for their character and resolve and right now they are very serious title contenders.
It wouldn't do for Pioneer to take Greytown-Tuhirangi lightly though.
The latter played well enough through the first half of their match with Marist last weekend to suggest that if they can maintain that sort of effort over the full 80 minutes they could, in fact, be the stumbling block to Pioneer's championship aspirations.
It is up front where Greytown-Tuhirangi will look to dent the Pioneer confidence.
They have a group of rugged front rowers in the form of Dylan Higgison, Carl Petersen, Brett Rudman and Bruce McKenzie and locks Stewart Weatherstone and Josh Heggelin aren't the types to take too many backward steps either.
Between them they will certainly test the Pioneer eight in the set pieces, something they will need to do if the considerable attacking skills of Pioneer loosies Boof Carberry and Nathan Rolls are to be kept in check.
It isn't only Carberry and Rolls, however, who will pose a big threat to Greytown-Tuhirangi if broken play situations are allowed to develop on a regular basis.
Backs like Jamie Smallman, Stu Waipuka and Jordan Fox can also be lethal when that happens.
Therefore the combined side will be looking to not only take control up front but have inside backs Mike Hollis and Richard Tosswill adopting tactics aimed at keeping most of the action close to the sidelines.
On the basis of recent form Pioneer must start as favourites here but they are no sure thing, not by a long shot.
Marist v Eketahuna
Marist and Eketahuna will at least go into their senior first division clash at Memorial Park without the worry of knowing they have to win to secure semi-final positions.
They are both safe in that regard but still have plenty to play for as the top two qualifiers for the semis will have home ground advantage.
And, what's more, whoever heads the table will front up to the fourth placed side, something which could also be seen as an advantage, despite the difference in standard between the top six sides being more minimal than usual
The tactics of the two teams will be interesting as while Eketahuna could be tempted to rely on forward domination to help nullify the influence Marist backs like Patrick Rimene, Nathan Couch and Phil Aporo can often have on proceedings, they will also be aware that in Hamish McKenzie, Simanu Simanu, Joji Tamani and Dan White they too have a group of backs who could make a big nuisance of themselves if the match happened to become a free-flowing affair.
There is always the possibility too that Eketahuna might just find the Marist forwards a bigger handful than expected as while Corey Reid and Joe Nuku remain their main strike force the improvement shown by the likes of Michael Hughes, Anthony Balks and Kyle Karaitiana through this season suggests any thoughts of them being a pushover can be forgotten.
Again a close encounter is in prospect, close enough for a draw to be a likely result.
Refereeing interpretations
It's not only the players but also the referees who come more under the spotlight at this stage of the club season.
Discussions with some senior first division coaches over the past few days indicate their main concerns revolve around refereeing interpretations at the tackled ball situation and the scrums, both in terms of binding and the implementation of the new engagement rules.
The general feeling seems to be that referees are all too often lacking consistency in these areas with penalties being handed out left, right and centre in some instances and not at all in others.
The problem with inconsistent refereeing is that players tend to become frustrated and tempers start to boil and when that happens even the best laid game plans invariably go out the window.
In the view of the coaches they wouldn't mind so much if the referees were wrong in their rulings, providing they were consistently wrong.
That way they could implement tactics to suit.
Food for thought eh!