Football
Wairarapa United will be without two of their "loan players" for the remainder of the 2013 season.
George Jermy and Esava Naqeleca are off to Fiji and, such is the strength of Wairarapa United's playing resources, they will not be replaced.
Jermy, who has played professionally in England and Spain, made a good impression as a midfielder-striker for Wairarapa United earlier in the season but has been struggling to make the starting line-up. His plans in Fiji are uncertain but it seems likely he will continue his playing career there.
Naqeleca's return home to Fiji is due to a family bereavement. The best of this dogged defender has not been seen in 2013 because of a series of injury problems.
Wairarapa United coach Phil Keinzley said the loss of Jermy and Naqeleca would leave Wairarapa United with three players classified as "loan players" - Frenchmen Charles Francois Mallman and Alssney Cissoko and Vanuatu international Brian Kalteck.
Mallman and Cissoko have been big success stories since joining Wairarapa United while Kalteck is a relative newcomer who has made a big impression in his couple of appearances.
Just who Wairarapa United will be playing this coming weekend was still unclear at the time these notes were penned. They are scheduled to play Lower Hutt City in a Central League fixture at Howard Booth Park in Carterton on Sunday but that could depend on the outcome of their appeal against Football New Zealand's decision to disqualify them from the Chatham Cup for allegedly playing an ineligible player during their 2-1, third-round win over Napier City Rovers.
If that appeal is successful, they could find themselves travelling to Palmerston North for a fourth round Chatham Cup match against Palmerston North Marist, instead.
If, however, the Central League match goes ahead, there will be no lack of incentive for Wairarapa United to produce a top-notch performance as they were on the end of a 5-1 thumping by Lower Hutt City the last time they met.
Keinzley doesn't need reminding of that result, or of the two previous clashes between the two teams which Lower Hutt City also won.
"They [LHC] have been an absolute pain in the butt. They have a habit of lifting their performance against us and we tend to play poorly at the same time. We owe them one, no doubt about that."
Returning to the Wairarapa United squad after an injury break will be reliable defender Waisake Sabatu and Keinzley is also hopeful of giving decent game time to Arnon Tapp, Jamie McMaster and Chris Cox, regulars in the Wairarapa United seconds team who have been introduced to the premiers this season and shown the ability to measure up at that level.