If anyone needed an example of the haves and the have-nots in the Central Otago club competition then one only had to look at last Saturday's games.
The teams from the booming areas of Central Otago - which incidentally feature on top of the competition ladder - took on the other sides from the more eastern parts of the Central Otago.
Collectively the four teams - Wakatipu, Upper Clutha, Arrowtown and Cromwell - won over their opponents 238-55, Wakatipu lodging the biggest win, 83-12 over Maniototo.
Wakatipu sits top of the table, albeit by just one point from Upper Clutha. These two sides have a slight break on Arrowtown which is in third place while Cromwell is just behind on 23 points.
There is a seven-point gap from there to Maniototo on 16 points while Clyde-Earnscleugh has 11 points.
Matakanui-Combined and Alexandra drew with each other when they played and, along with two bonus points, each sit on four points.
Towns in the Queenstown Lakes catchment have experienced population booms in the past few years and that is manifesting itself in higher player numbers for the clubs.
Naturally enough that brings more competition for places and logic suggests better players.
Wakatipu is able to field a second team, which plays in the Southland second division.
The teams in the Central Otago area have not experienced such an increase in population so do have not the player depth to call on. Couple that with a loss of experience in some of the teams and it can be a tough old season.
But every side goes through it. Queenstown has been booming for some years but it has only been in the past couple of years Wakatipu has become a real contender, winning the Central Otago title last year.
In games tomorrow, Wakatipu takes on Matakanui Combines at Queenstown, Clyde-Earnscleugh hosts Upper Clutha, Maniototo travels to take on Arrowtown and Alexandra plays Cromwell in Cromwell.
Clubs will get next weekend off with the Topp Cup to be played at Alexandra on June 4.