Football
This weekend's round of Chatham Cup games sees Wairarapa United take to the field at Howard Booth Park on Sunday against Wellington United, a team they comprehensively beat a matter of weeks ago.
United coach Phil Keinzley should be rubbing his hands at the prospect of another comfortable victory, which would see his side regain much-needed confidence after last weekend's 3-3 draw when defensive lapses cost his side three points.
However, numerous injury concerns have Keinzley wondering which of his players will be fit for action and how many he will need to recruit from the second team to make up numbers.
With Seule Soromon, Waisake Sabatu, Esava Naqeleca, Dale Higham, Adam Cowan, Matt Borren and George Jermy all under fitness clouds, Keinzley will be looking to "grind out a result" against a Wellington side whose results indicate they have improved since the two sides last met.
While Soromon and Jermy are likely to shake off their injuries and take the field, the same can't be said for Naqeleca and Higham, while Cowan is rated only a 50/50 chance of recovering from his calf injury.
Similarly keeper Borren and centre back Sabatu remain in the "iffy" category.
"We've been wanting to work on our defensive set-up this week but, with so many out, it's been almost impossible," said Keinzley. "We've been letting winning situations slip and that's something we need to eliminate."
The situation could see United taking the field with Carl Shailer, Jorge De La Torre, Nathan Cooksley and Josh Margetts stretched across the back four with the tireless Miroslav Tvaroh and hard-working Aaron Spierling parked in front of them.
Margetts has yet to show his true value for United and this could be the opportunity for him to show his coach what he's capable of. De La Torre was recalled to the fold last weekend and probably had his best game for United and a similar showing won't go amiss this weekend while Cooksley and Tvaroh were both commanding figures with their trademark reading of the game, ball distribution and strong tackling.
Tvaroh will need to keep a lid on his challenges however and Keinzley will not want him picking up another yellow card, something which may have influenced the decision to substitute him midway through the second half last weekend. Keinzley will want his midfielder to last the full 90 minutes and will probably be reminding him of that before kick-off.
In Capital 2, second-place Douglas Villa travel over the hill to take on near cellar-dwellers Stop Out, buoyed with a four-wins-out-of-five ratio and with a full squad to choose from.
Coach Troy Burling isn't letting the situation get to his players. "Yes, we're on a roll but we're not getting ahead of ourselves and taking anything for granted. We have to keep our feet firmly on the ground," he said.
"The boys will have a tough training session tonight. Stop Out are a tough, skilful side despite their position in the table. We'll be giving it everything we have."
In Capital 3, Petone host Wairarapa United seconds with United favourites to come out on top. They lie top of their division, albeit on goal difference, and have yet to lose.
They face a Petone team who have yet to win and have managed just two draws to show for their season so far.
In the same division, Gardner Electrical Masterton host Waterside Karori at Hullena Park.
Masterton have let winning situations slip in the last two games, something they will want to address against a Karori side who lie third on the table and have netted 18 goals so far.