As they make their weekend plans and calculate how it fits into the jigsaw puzzle that is winning a Premier rugby championship, Wanganui's top club coaches are loving getting to keep all their pieces.
Back at February's Council of Clubs meeting a well-received representative format was unveiled which did not have any early season games.
Now able to plan their campaigns knowing they will have their full playing roster from start to finish, undefeated teams Ruapehu, Taihape and Border say their good starts can be rewarded at the business end of the competition.
A heavyweight clash will be played in Taihape tomorrow as they host Border the only remaining team with a 100 per cent winning record.
"It's the fairest way you can do it previously, teams that started well have been penalised," Border's coach, Peter Richardson, said of the format.
"If you're winning your games you'd worry about [losing players]."
Putting their streak on the line against a relatively young Taihape unit who ground out a draw with Pirates and then a one-point win over Kaierau, Richardson said tomorrow was a true test of where they stood.
The likes of lock Sam Madams, halfback Lindsay Horrocks and Taranaki arrival Andy Hamilton joining the midfield had all been solid.
For Taihape's Kerry Whale, so integral inside Wanganui rugby as a player and then coach, the season should always be this way.
"It's what you hope for the competition is based on where you start and where you finish and what goes in between.
"We continue to chip away at getting better. We're flying a little under the radar at the moment.
"Hopefully, we're in a situation to get good to face the strongest team, which is obviously going to be Ruapehu."
Taihape and Ruapehu clash in two weeks but, for now, Whale has his eye on the familiar faces at Border.
Stay around Wanganui rugby long enough and you'll know everybody and their son.
Madams is a former Taihape man, while Bruce Middleton, father of MVP points co-leader Fraser Middleton, is very familiart to Whale, as is his old representative comrade Guy Lennox, who will "be there in some capacity".
"It's pretty close-knit," Whale said.
For Ruapehu, who will have their bye week before heading to Taihape, tomorrow's match with Marist at Ohakune takes on added importance after being held to a draw by Pirates at Spriggens Park.
"It was a disappointment. We had our chances but [due to] a bit of smart play because of them, we couldn't get out of their end of the field," said assistant coach Andrew Evans.
Even with the knowledge of a full-strength squad for the entire season did not mean games like this against a team at the other end of the table could be taken lightly, Evans said.
It will mean getting full service from mainstays such as MVP co-leader Jason Hughes and Wanganui captain Peter Rowe, who has been brought back carefully from an ankle injury.
Pirates versus Kaierau promises to be a tough arm-wrestle at Spriggens Park, while Marton have their tails up as they host Ratana.