It will be the defending Hutt Valley champions against the defending national champions when Giants and Hutt City United men's softball teams meet twice at South Park, Masterton tomorrow. The first of their games, starting at 2pm, will count towards the Hutt Valley premier league while the second, which will getunder way at 4pm, is an Inter-City competition match. As national champions Hutt City United would normally be accorded favouritism, but with Giants beating them in the Hutt Valley grand final last season, and repeating that result in a pre-season game this year the locals have every reason to be confident of their chances. Giants coach Tony Nixon is aware though that nothing less than a top notch performance will secure victory for his team against opposition which have the Manley brothers, Regan and Jeremy, both of whom have played for the Black Sox, on their pitching staff and another Black Sox in Tyson Byrne spearheading their batting effort. "They (HCU) are a very strong side and you can't afford to be below par in any area against them," Nixon said. "They are the sort of team which will tear you apart if you have an off game." Nixon believes much will depend on the ability of the Giants batters to cope with the Manley brothers. "Putting bat to ball effectively is the key???we have to play smart there," he said. It will be a hectic weekend for Giants who on Sunday will travel over the hill to Fraser Park to play two more Inter-City games against Kapiti and Cardinals The opposition there shouldn't be as testing as that offered by HCU but Nixon isn't taking anything for granted. "We should win these games but you still have to make it happen??you just can't go out there at this level and expect a positive result without playing well," he said. Nixon himself only returned to Masterton this week after a fortnight in Australia where he was part of the Brisbane 45's team which finished runners-up to another Brisbane team, United, in their section of the Pan Pacific Masters Games. The Brisbane 45's won all but two of their matches with Nixon playing in 12 of them, and having the responsibility of pitching in eight. They were beaten 3-1 by United in the tournament decider.
