Wakatipu hosted Matakanui at the Queenstown Rec Ground on Saturday afternoon.
Things looked promising in the first half as the locals notched up a couple of tries for an 18-0 lead at the break, but then the wheels fell off and no further points were scored.
The Wakatipu game plan and/or execution of that game plan was lacking to the point I got to wondering what it was trying to achieve.
It was also guilty of playing far too much footy in its own half.
On the positive side, it did win the game comfortably and managed to keep its opposition scoreless.
Matakanui was obviously outclassed and resorted to spoiling tactics that made for a frustrating, scrappy game.
Wakatipu will gladly take the four competition points and all but sew up a date with Arrowtown in the semifinals.
Before that crunch game, however, it has one more chance this weekend against bottom of the table Alexandra to identify and empower the leaders in the team who can move the players around the park with cohesion, accuracy and vision.
As for poor old Alexandra, nobody would blame it for throwing in the towel against Wakatipu this week, after copping an absolute hiding at the hands of Arrowtown at the Events Centre on Saturday.
Arrowtown tore the visitors to shreds, much to the joy of its loyal supporters who had to travel from a frozen Jack Reid Park for this home game.
Officially, the final score was marked down as 87-0 but it could have been 92, as the job of keeping tabs on the 15 (or 16) try romp was no easy task.
All we know for sure is that Ben Chisholm scored five.
Alexandra was not as awful as the score would indicate.
Its players certainly tried to tackle and mount a few attacks of their own.
It was simply a case of men against boys with Arrowtown too big and too strong.
Heading into the last game of the round, there is now a huge incentive for Arrowtown when it travels down the Gorge to Cromwell this weekend.
Cromwell will be defending what was, until Upper Clutha took it away in early June, Arrowtown's favourite drinking vessel, the White Horse Cup.
Cromwell beat Upper Clutha to claim the coveted prize in Wanaka on Saturday and now faces a battle royal before its name is written into history.
