Things are heating up in North Otago.
Valley has been in red hot form this season, securing seven from seven, and is miles ahead on the Citizens Shield table with 35 points.
That’s remarkable considering it has one of the leanest premier squads in the competition, forcing radical changes some weeks.
The Weston club is trailed by a resurgent Excelsior (20), but below Blues is where the real mystery lies.
Kurow (14) has clawed its way off the bottom of the table to third spot, but is tied on competition points with Maheno (14) and Athletic Marist (14) and Old Boys (12) are uncharacteristically at the bottom of the table.
Kurow and Maheno meet for the first time tomorrow, having delayed their round one encounter to coincide with the Red Devils’ 125th celebrations.
It is a massive game in the context of the defending champion’s season, but Kurow has found some form, beating Athies 36-24 and Blues 41-33.
Maheno will be keen to cause an upset away, having missed 40-42 against Athies last week.
All other teams have the weekend off for King’s Birthday.
With three rounds left, all teams have a shot of making the playoffs.
After the round-robin, the No1 and No 2-ranked teams play each other and No3 and No4 play each other (July 1).
The winner of the first semifinal automatically qualifies for the final, while the loser plays the winner of 3 v 4 (July 8).
That winner will advance to the final on July 15.
