The only question left is in what order the teams will shake out.
Green Island have emerged as strong favourites to claim the Gallaway Trophy.
The Grizzlies enhanced their claims with a gutsy 21-13 win over Southern in the Dunedin premier club game at a damp Bathgate Park on Saturday.
That took them to 48 points from 10 games. They only need two more points from their final two round-robin games to secure the trophy and pole position for the playoffs.
The Grizzlies’ pack got on top against the defending champions. They stole a lot of lineout ball and grabbed a couple of tightheads as well.
Southern were missing some key personnel, but the sight of their scrum in reverse gear and the lineout not functioning will have raised a few questions among the faithful.
The Magpies remain in second place with 43 points from 11 games. They have a bye this weekend and have a tough game against Kaikorai in the last round.
Green Island has a tricky run-in. They are away to University tomorrow and will host Dunedin next week.
The Grizzlies’ only loss was a 22-10 defeat to Kaikorai on May 18.
Kaikorai (39 points) play Taieri tomorrow and, on form, you would suggest they would pick up five points.
That will mean the Demons leapfrog Southern and set up an interesting final-round clash with the Magpies.
Dunedin, also on 39, have lifted in the past month and their 50-28 win over Southern earlier this month highlighted their title credentials.
They play early front-runners Zingari-Richmond (36) at Montecillo Park tomorrow.
Zingari rescued a draw with a late penalty against Kaikorai last weekend.
That snapped a two-game losing streak for the Colours, who lean heavily on a chunky forward pack.
Zingari play the winless Alhambra-Union in the last round, so they will be hoping to skip ahead of one or two more teams and get a slightly easier playoff game.
University (33) have a bye in the last round, so their only hope of climbing up the ladder is to post a win over Green Island tomorrow and to hope Zingari lose both their remaining games.
Harbour (13), Taieri (12) and AU (1) are out of contention.
