With a weekend of Premier rugby remaining there is only one piece of the pie left outstanding and Marton have given themselves an outside chance of snaffling it.
Marton climbed away from in the second half of their home clash with Marist on Saturday to claim a tough 19-9 win, their first in four games.
However, they only managed three tries to Michael Thomsen, Moli Sagapolutele, Soonalote Tauailoto, still leaving them one competition point behind Taihape, who may yet have to play their postponed fixture with Kaierau to confirm their semifinal place.
Coming off the bye week Taihape will have a local derby with Utiku Old Boys, while Marton travel to the Country Club to face Kaierau.
Therefore, in the position of kingmaker, Kaierau may still have a say on proceedings in 2013 as they rose above recent disappointments to beat Utiku over in Taihape, 32-23.
Also taking a narrow lead into halftime, Kaierau's tryscorers were Sam Lane, Areta Lama, Johnny Muir and Ace Malo.
Utiku's five pointers came from Te Rangi Tapu McLeod, Danny Smith, and Jason Coffee.
The top three positions have long since sorted themselves out and will not change Pirates taking a well earned break ahead of a semifinal in Waverley against Border, having wrapped up their Round 2 campaign with a 52-0 mauling of Ratana on Spriggens Park.
Ratana's efforts to hold Pirates to 18-5 on May 25 was long forgotten as the city team completed their mop up of the minnow teams by scoring four tries in each half.
Flanker Faalafi Vave grabbed a double.
In the Senior championship, Hunterville made a big statement by going up to Ohakune and emerging with a 15-7 win over Ruapehu, keeping the Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield and all but guaranteeing they finish on top of the table. Like their Premier team, Taihape are in a must-win situation next week if they want to overtake Celtic for the coveted fourth spot.
In the Senior consolation, there is little between Marton and Marist as the two sides at the top of the table fought out a 25-25 stalemate.
Results, July 20
Wanganui Tasman Tanning Premier, Week 17
Integrity Motors Ratana 52 (Faalafi Vave 2, Lee Ashford, Brett Turner, Lasa Ulukuta, Johnny Mow, Matt Thompson, Enesi Seloti tries, Josh Marwick 6 con) bt Harvey Round Motors Ratana 0. HT: 26-0.
Grand Hotel Challenge Shield McCarthy's Ruapehu 25 (Robert Hughes, Nick Cranston, Logan Vaughan tries, Tautahi Rawiri 2 pen, 2 con) bt Waverley Harvesting Border 22 (Sailosi Naqiso 2, Cole Baldwin tries, Mark Davis pen, 2 con). HT: 10-7 Border.
Marton 19 (Michael Thomsen, Moli Sagapolutele, Soonalote Tauailoto tries, Tauailoto 2 con) bt Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist 9 (Grayson Tihema 3 pen). HT: 7-6.
Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau 32 (Sam Lane, Areta Lama, Johnny Muir. Ace Malo tries, Rhys Wylie 2 pen, 3 con) bt Utiku OB 23 (Te Rangi Tapu McLeod, Danny Smith, Jason Coffee tries, McLeod 2 pen, con). HT: 14-11.
Bye: Taihape.
Grand Irish Bar Premier MVP Points (Week 17)
At Spriggens Park: Faalafi Vave (Pirates flanker) 3 points, Lasa Ulukuta (Pirates No 8) 2, Denning Tyrell (Pirates first five) 1.
At Waverley: Nick Cranston (Ruapehu lock) 3, Liam Richardson (Border flanker) 2, Lindsay Horrocks (Border halfback) 1.
At Marton Park: Michael Thomsen (Marton No 8) 3, Ryan Gill (Marist No 8) 2, Salu Peneli (Marton lock) 1.
At Taihape: Sam Cane (Kaierau lock) 3, Jason Coffee (Utiku OB centre) 2, Ace Malo (Kaierau centre/fullback) 1.
Leading MVP standings: Ulukuta 25 points, Fraser Middleton (Border) 19, Faamanu Manutuhiha (Marton), Isaac Fonotoe (Ratana), Peter Rowe and Jason Hughes (Ruapehu) 9, Ace Malo (Kaierau), Nick Cranston (Ruapehu), Mark Davis (Border) 8, Shaun Hawira (Ruapehu), Sam Madams (Border), Ihaia Tai and Vaan Rauhina (Ratana), Denning Tyrell (Pirates), Soonalote Tauailoto (Marton) 7.
Senior Championship, Week 15
At Spriggens Park: Celtic beat Trans Pacific Pirates 37-10. HT: 22-5
At McNab Domain, Kaiwhaiki: Counties beat Taihape 24-17.
At Ohakune Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield: Power Farming (PN) Hunterville bt Ruapehu 15-7. HT: 0-all.
Senior Consolation, Week 15
At Waverley: Border bt St John's Tech 36-18. HT: 19-10.
At Marton Park: Marton drew with Marist 25-25. HT: 17-14 Marton.
At Taihape: Kaierau bt Utiku OB 12-10. HT: 7-0 Utiku OB.