KEY POINTS:
Normal service resumes in the New Zealand Football Championship tomorrow with leaders Auckland City and defending champions Waitakere United in action after offshore jaunts.
With the mid-season transfer window looming, tomorrow's matches, and the January 10-11 round, are the last chance for players to cement their places for the remainder of the season.
There are certain to be changes with the players in the under-20 team having just the early January round to press their claims.
With no flights back from Tahiti until tomorrow, the players in the Junior All Whites will miss tomorrow's action leaving some teams a trifle thin.
Waitakere, at home to YoungHeart Manawatu, who trail Auckland City only on goal difference, have been hard hit but Chris Milicich is confident he has the depth to cover the loss of his three players although defender Tim Myers could well have been useful cover with Danny Hay and Jonathan Perry sidelined.
United will also be without the under-utilised Adriano Pimento who has returned home - and is a possibility to return to the J-League next season - and Allan Pearce who is likely to be out for a couple of months with his ankle injury.
There will be keen interest in the game at Trusts Stadium in Fijian flyer Roy Krishna who caught the eye of A-League scouts in Tokyo and is set to play a major part in Waitakere's bid to defend their NZFC title.
New Auckland City coach Paul Posa will be keen to build on his winning start - the O-League win over Port Vila Sharks last Saturday - on tomorrow's trip to Christchurch.
He has made changes with young striker Milos Nikolic the most sorely missed as he returns from Tahiti. With normal attacking spearhead Grant Young nursing niggling injuries, ever-dependable Paul Urlovic will play with Keryn Jordan.
Something will have to give at Ngaruawahia's Centennial Park.
Waikato FC have won their last three games and Team Wellington are unbeaten in their last four. The visitors have been harder hit in losing players to international duty and in the end that might be the difference.
