Athletic go to war with Army

Wanganui Athletic Reserves Sam Conley keeps the ball from Hokowhitu's Phil King last weekend. The Reserves are off to Linton today.

With a week off for Devon Homes Wanganui Athletic firsts before the start of the fill-in top and bottom four competitions in the Lotto Federation League, the spotlight falls on the Athletic Reserves for their away fixture in the Western Premiership against Linton on the army base grounds.

Meanwhile back home at Wembley Park, the round-robin pool play for the long standing Charity competitions begin - with two pools vying for top positions before the knockout legs where the trophies are on the line.

The Athletic Reserves should be able to call on a few of their first team compatriots this weekend as they look to revive a season that's starting to get the speed wobbles.

The ability to call in some of the more experienced Federation League players could be just what the doctor ordered for the young development side, giving them a solid core to allow the younger players to flourish and explore their talents more.

The downside to such a move will be that some of the more established players may have to make way, but even the opportunity to train and play alongside the firsts players will be an opportunity many of them will relish.

Linton are never an easy opposition to play, and have been known to be quite a physical team to come up against, especially when they're on their home ground.

The Reserves missed out on the opportunity to face Linton in the first round due to a default by the Army team, gifting the Reserves three points in the process.

The unknown can be daunting, and with five straight losses to their name, the Reserves will need to ensure they approach today with a positive mentality and an attacking desire, while coming up with an effective game plan on the fly.

A win today is crucial for the Reserves, if not simply to lift the morale of the wider squad and reinforce the fact they hold the capability to compete in the Western Premiership, but it would also allow them to leapfrog Linton and move an extra spot up the table.

The Charity Cup competition starts this weekend, with all teams from the Men's Division 1 and 2 involved.

This historic competition has been running for over 100 years in some shape or form, and the format varies each year depending on the time and teams available to play.

This year sees all teams split into two pools based on their league finishing positions, and round robin play over the next few weeks to sort out the seeding for the knockout stages of the competition.

They will then split into the three knockout competitions - the Charity Cup, Plate, and Bowl.

With some of the Division 2 teams showing some strength in their performances over the regular season, it will be interesting to see how the likes of league toppers Rivercity Braves, Athletic Cosmos and the Marist Shamrocks fare against some of their Division 1 counterparts.

The games are kicking at 12.30pm and 2.30pm, so there will still be plenty of good local football for the casual watcher gracing the ground of Wembley Park today.