The South Island Scorpions will be hunting down the Counties-Manukau Stingrays at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Sunday.
It will be a massive under-20s Ruben Wiki Cup encounter as both teams are undefeated so far, leading into next weekend’s semifinals.
It is also a rematch of last year’s under-18 national final, as many of those players have stepped up to the under-20s.
The Scorpions won their first two games of the national under-20 season, beating Waikato Mana 46-8 and Wellington Orcas 58-6. The Stingrays boast similar results, beating the Orcas 38-4 and Bay of Plenty 54-26.
The Scorpions have predominantly played their home games for the competition, which acts as a pathway for high-performance opportunities in the NRL, in Christchurch.
It will be the first time since 2020 they have played in Dunedin, and southern zone rugby league club capability and event manager Louis Carmine said it was a reflection of the increased interest in rugby league.
"It’s a pretty cool opportunity to have them down here," Carmine said.
"It’s pretty awesome to have good exposure down here as well, because even just in the Otago region things are starting to pick up for league too, which is pretty good"
Dunedin players Callum Donaldson and Tetauru Cuthers will suit up for Sunday’s game.
Donaldson will start at lock, and has been a "standout" so far this season, while Cuthers will come off the bench.
• South Sydney coach Jason Demetriou has told his players not to buy into the "hysteria" surrounding concussion, declaring the modern athlete is better protected against the effects of head knocks than ever before.
Demetriou’s comments came after the NRL on Wednesday made the biggest change to its concussion policy in almost a decade. Any player who suffers a head knock will be subject to an 11-day layoff.
The new rule comes after Newcastle five-eighth Kalyn Ponga suffered a fourth concussion in 10 months during round two.
Demetriou says the NRL is adapting its concussion rules as soundly as possible, given the inherent physicality of a game that is only getting faster and harder.
"There’s a lot of hysteria around concussion at the moment and a lot of it’s fear-mongering, to be honest.
"There’s risk in contact sport and these players are looked after better now than they’ve ever been and rightfully so."
- additional reporting AAP
