It has been dubbed "murderers row" – the luck of the draw, or lack thereof, for two Tasman Tanning Division 1 teams to have to play all the other semifinal contenders in consecutive weeks on a very congested points table.
Cross town rivals Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist and Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau are both meeting each other along the row on Saturday – Marist just starting the gauntlet after picking up the obligatory five points against bottom-table Harvey Round Motors Ratana two weeks ago.
Marist do not need reminding just how painful the row can be –as last season under the previous Premier format they played in virtual sudden death conditions nearly every week, and went from the high of beating eventual champions McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu in Ohakune one week, to narrowly losing their final game at home against Byford's Readimix Taihape, missing the top four at the final gasp.
Kaierau, meanwhile, had a great start to their trip down the row by beating Waverley Harvesting Border in the last minute in Waverley two weeks ago, and with the prospect of playing Ratana at the end of the round-robin, the calculations suggest a victory on Saturday and then a healthy dose of bonus points, even if they can't win away against Ruapehu and Taihape, might just pull them into their first top grade semifinal since 2012.
It should make for a big match atmosphere at the Country Club, as Kaierau are hosting their Old Timers day, although when it comes to festive occasions, Marist have crashed the party before – like Kaierau's 125th Anniversary game in 2016.