TRY TIME: Marist's Dave Chadwick scores during last weekend's big win over Pirates. PHOTO/ LEWIS GARDNER
CALL IT a theory.
Take a team filled with teenagers - encourage them, develop them, nurse them mentally through weekends they get hammered by veteran squads - and in 2-4 seasons you have a squad of youthful but experienced men ready to push for the top.
Tomorrow's Spriggens Park clash between Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist and Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau showcases two teams who now fit this description, although both have their sprinkling of key veterans as well.
Marist reversed the trend of recent years and comprehensively dumped the champion Black Bull Liquor Pirates 34-0 last Saturday, although crafty coach Phillip Morris may yet find more Polynesian talent to soon join his ranks.
Meanwhile, Kaierau were leading title contenders PGG Wrightson/Balance Taihape until falling off in the final quarter to lose 40-28.
Both teams have players with the exuberance of youth, being willing to throw the ball around, although Saturday's forecast of possible wet weather could temper that.
Wanting a good Tasman Tanning Premier season for their club's 125th Jubilee, Kaierau coach Dennis Edwards and assistant Darren Munro are banking on the "young veteran" theory ringing true.
"Marist and Kaierau probably are on, or around about, the same level," Munro said.
"They've got a couple of guys come in and give them a bit more.
"We'd be well ahead in the young fella stakes."
Still, there are still lessons to be learned after last week.
"Up 28-12 with 19 minutes left, you should never lose from that point," Munro said.
"We made some good plays and [Taihape] made a couple of mistakes. We fell off the ball, made too many subs. We were poor.
"The last couple of years our defence has been shoddy."
The squad is co-captained this year by brother-in-laws Ace Malo and Fiatau Faalili, running the backs and forwards respectively.
Tomorrow Kaierau will rotate wingers, with Sione Kilisimasi getting a start from either Stu Brosnahan or Taylor Kirkwood, while new reserve prop will be Stevie Aki - a former Whanganui age grade representative out of City College who has been in Wellington for 10 years.
Taihape coach Kerry Whale can appreciate Kaierau's nursery cultivation - it is exactly what he was doing three years ago when his then-young team first scraped into the semifinals.
"They probably will be [competitive] this year - they've currently got a better approach to play rugby," he said of Kaierau.
"You can tell, if nothing else, they've got a different mindset.
"We were a bit arrogant last week, thought we'd go down there and have a right to win."
This weekend, Taihape will head north for the anticipated clash with McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu, and although the hosts are struggling with numbers, Whale always expects a hard match in Ohakune and wants to start balancing a ledger of only one win in 24 games from the rivalry.
One previous detriment - having a small core of 18 players - has been offset by a much deeper bench who have similar abilities to the starting XV.
"That's where we're at - if we play poorly it's not because we don't know how to play the game," said Whale.
"If our set piece is good, the rest is [working]. We rate ourselves in the possession stakes.
"We're growing a little squad into a big squad."
There will be a couple of changes with halfback Brett Nicholls likely to start this week, while Whale believes Jaye Flaws will migrate back to the wing despite two tries at centre against Kaierau.
Likewise, by also scoring twice, veteran first-five Tom Wells answered doubts about him starting at No10 despite the presence of Dane Whale.
"He's the nuts and bolts of it all. He's running the show," said Kerry Whale.
"Others will slot in there late in games, but on Saturday he stayed there because we had to dig ourselves out of a hole."
Memorial Park neighbours Utiku Old Boys, last year's consolation final winners, also have cause for optimism after beating Harvey Round Motors Ratana 43-12 on opening weekend, although an in-form Waverley Harvesting Border is a different prospect this weekend.
It seemed the off-season defection of all their Fijian imports to Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri would hobble the country club, however new coach and former prop Matt Gilbert was able to cast the net out.
A contact in Huntly found four young United Kingdom players who were on a working holiday in Australia, while several others have come down from the Waiouru army camp.
Although this will mean off-field commitments throughout the season, Gilbert is confident of having a solid 22 on most Saturdays.
"Army's a sleeping giant - there's 5-6 guys up there and they're all keen to play.
"They're good guys too."
Team regulars like Matt Crawford, Mark Logan, Hepa Payne and Tim Stevenson are all fronting again.
In the other game, Pirates will travel to the Pa to try and pick their campaign back up again against Ratana, who are always a different beast at home.