The club season dawned fine and warm and all games went with last year's form.
Dunedin kicked a late penalty to beat Taieri. Kaik destroyed Pirates at a beach with real sandhills. Southern migrated to the Octopus Oval and routed Harbour. Varsity visited the Toolbox and was too much for Green Island.
Alhambra-Union (aka Peter Breen) just held on over a plucky Zingari at the Pony Pit. Fifteen Highlanders were released for the opening round of club rugby.
The lolly scramble
So where are these Highlanders playing? Alhambra-Union has Jason Emery, Kurt Baker, Matias Diaz and Shane Christie. Dunedin has Trent Renata, Gareth Evans and Winston Stanley. Green Island snapped up Brayden Mitchell and Patrick Osborne.
Harbour was standing behind the door and only got Malakai Fekitoa. Kaikorai got Lee Allan. Pirates enticed Ged Robinson and Craig Millar. Southern recycled Tom Franklin and Frae Wilson. Taieri has Hayden Parker and Kane Hames. Varsity attracted Richard Buckman. Zingari attracted Willie Ripia, Josh Bekhuis and ''Jack'' Tanaka.
Don't get too wound up over this, because not too many of these guys will play many games.
Relative strengths
Dunedin, with six teams, is numerically the strongest club this year but has only one premier colts side. Alhambra-Union, with five teams, is faring best of the others. Taieri, Southern, Harbour, Pirates and Varsity all field four sides.
Kaikorai has no premier 2 side and has three sides, along with Zingari. Green Island has no colts sides and is fielding only two teams. The premier 2 competition and both colts grades have only nine teams; all grades are looking a bit thin.
Predictions
It looks to me that the top four will be the same as last year, with the semifinalists Southern, Varsity, Taieri and Dunedin. The Southern pack looks formidable and Varsity is building good depth.
These two should be in the final. Taieri won't be far away, and Dunedin may sneak into the four. Kaik and Alhambra-Union should finish fifth-sixth but it wouldn't surprise if Kaik made the four. Harbour and Zingari will finish seventh-eighth. I've got Pirates and Green Island fighting for the spoon - but I've been wrong before.
The judiciary delivers
It won't pay to get sent before the judiciary this year if the first case up is anything to go by. Eti Tofiga from the Eels was charged with stomping on one of the Knight boys in the Ken Bloxham Memorial match against Toko two weeks ago. The incident happened after an all-in brawl. I don't condone the act but my spies tell me the Knight boys were not totally innocent.
By all accounts, Eti is a top young bloke and this incident was out of character. He had an exemplary record but he sits this season out. Beware, lads: the die has been cast.
Speaking of incidents
An Otago Boys' team was playing a Taieri team in a pre-season game at the weekend and, as the story goes, the Otago Boys' coach attracted some attention.
Frustrated with some of the decisions, he got a bit ''verbose'' and was marched from the sidelines. Luckily it wasn't a real game, or we could have had some really red faces.
Churlish cricketers
I had an email, after last week's column, from a ''cricketing heavy'' lambasting me applauding the decision to start premier rugby early so we didn't interfere with the NPC.
Mentions of rugby arrogance, and the NPC being not as big as the Hawke Cup, flowed from his vitriolic keyboard. Surely rugby can dictate its own competition rules without consulting other codes? . Play and be damned, I say.
This weekend
Unbelievably lost in the first week to mein host Mark Scully after Scully's old club let me down. Up against the ''Swarthy Greek'', Alex from Salt Bar fame, so surely pride is restored. The Eels (13+) will be too strong for the Colours at the Eelpit. The Sharks (12-) will pip Varsity at the Oval and go 17 straight.
The Magpies (13+) on the back of their behemoth pack will destroy the Spannerheads. Kaik (12-) will have the oxygen tanks on full bore at the Veldt and account for the Hawks. The Onion (13+) will manhandle Pirates at the Pony Pit.
And another thing
Good luck to the 150 contestants who have entered our ODT/Speights Dunedin premier picks competition. Remember if you don't get your picks in on time you get mine.
- paul.dwyer@alliedpress.co.nz
