All bets off as cross-over cuts options

Nothing is certain about the results of any matches when the 2010 Wairarapa-Bush premier division rugby competition kicks off tomorrow.
The early start to the club season, which sees opening round fixtures being played while the likes of local tennis and cricket is still in progress, means many of the clubs are struggling to find a full complement of players and few coaches have had the luxury of time to build workable combinations.
There is no question that come next season the union's council of clubs will need to again look closely at just how far into March _ if indeed at all _ should they encroach for the start of club rugby.
The need to find available spaces for representative fixtures leading into the Heartland championship does create a problem, especially if the desire is to have them played at the end of the club season rather than during it.
No doubt the clubs prefer the latter scenario because it means their leading players are available more regularly.
But the club season has to be brought forward to enable a comfortable fit of club and representative games, and so player _ and referee _ availability for early season fixtures becomes an issue.
Pretty much a doubled-edged sword for officials.
Tomorrow's draw sees defending champions Masterton Red Star square off at Memorial Park against Carterton, the team that are already being widely tipped as the side to beat this season.
That assessment is because out of all the premier division sides, Carterton have had the largest influx of new talent, including six players from last year's Pioneer line-up, and they look well equipped at back and forward.
Old hands like Joe Harwood, Dylan Higgison, Mike Wakefield and Tomasi Kedrabuka are all rugged types who will shoulder much of the hard grind up front for the maroons and coach Mark Rutene has so many handy backs to call on he will have the happy problem of having to sit some potential match winners on the reserves bench.
Masterton Red Star have a hard act to follow. Remarkably, they came back after a year's absence to win the premiership last season but with a handful of that squad either transferred elsewhere or retired the chances of a repeat have dimmed. They do have the best goal-kicker in Byron Karaitiana and two of the most consistent forwards in Chris Senior and Jacob Bubb.
Beating Carterton first up would give them a flying start.
East Coast were the beaten finalists last year and while they, too, have lost a number of the players, they do have some of the region's most exciting backs in Nick Olson, Sam Mitchell and Jesse McGilvary. They will want to unleash them tomorrow at Whareama against a Gladstone side that will be strong up front through the efforts of proven performers like Tim Fleming, John Stevenson and Richard Puddy but which has a shortage of backs. So much so that coach Steve Thompson may have to play some of his forwards there.
Eketahuna and Greytown will do battle at Eketahuna with the current composition of the two teams suggesting Eketahuna will rely heavily on forwards such as Brendon Walker, Jesse Williams, Pete Tua-Davidson and Rupeni Tamani to dominate possession while Greytown will want to give their backs every chance to express themselves, particularly Kingi Kaiwai and the Issac brothers, Senoa, Tavita and Tapanga.
Martinborough is at home to Pioneer and it will be interesting to see how the latter copes with so many of last year's team having moved to other clubs.They have, however, retained three of their best-performed forwards in Nathan and Isaac Rolls and Ihe Namana and they will ensure Martinborough are kept honest in the possession stakes. The southerners have the always combative James Bruce guiding their fortunes from halfback and he'll want to bring other backs like Greg Wilson, Eli Telford, Tony Te Kani and Keiran Te Whare into the play as often as possible.
Marist travels to Pongaroa to take on Puketoi tomorrow and they will be relying on experienced campaigners Corey Reid, Joe Nuku, Ben Couch and Geordie Waldron and the promising James Goodger to quell the fire in an opposition pack in which Evan Small, James Neilsen and Austin Pomana should be prominent. Unfortunately for Puketoi, No8 Duncan Law _ a standout for Wairarapa-Bush in last season's Heartland championship _ is still recovering from a wrist operation and won't be available this weekend.