It was hard to split the three teams gunning for third and fourth spot, especially after two of them drew in the final Citizens Shield round robin games last week.
Kurow drew 33-33 with Old Boys, while Athletic Marist lost to Excelsior 27-15.
That forced a tiebreaker between three teams, which came down to the number of competition points each team were awarded when they played each other.
After going back over the six games throughout the season, Kurow came out on top with 15 points, followed by Athies on 13.
Old Boys, who finished on 10 points, were knocked out.
It was easier among the top two.
Valley clinched top spot and will host Excelsior in Weston tomorrow.
Both teams have traded scores this season — Blues won 41-7 in round one and Valley won 26-21 in round two — and have really been the benchmark all year.
Valley have been impressive up front, served well by their experience of Sam Sturgess, Jake Greenslade and Cameron Rowland. After an up-and-down start to the second round, Blues have come right in the past few weeks.
Captain Mat Duff provides plenty of experience, having been there when Blues were pipped 26-23 by Valley in the dying seconds of last year’s final, Josefa Vurewa has been a scoring weapon and Samu Baibau is big in the back row.
Kurow v Athies is an intriguing match-up.
Four points has been the largest margin separating the two all year. Athies won 36-32 first up and Kurow hit back with a 38-36 win in round two.
Mitch Scott has been a proven try-scorer for Kurow and the experience of Ben Nowell can never be discounted.
Athies have power across the field.
Hateni Tafolo’s boot has come in handy, Epineri Logavatu is a massive target in the lineout and captain Savenaca Rabaka had been solid in the loose forwards.
North Otago rugby is running with the same playoff system as recent years.
The winner of the Valley-Blues clash heads straight to the final and gets next week off.
The loser will play the winner of Kurow v Athies for a spot in the final, while the loser of the latter game is knocked out.
The final will be played on July 13 at Whitestone Contracting Stadium.
