Last weekend
The Eels destroyed the Guppyfish by nearly 50 to hold on to the Speight's Challenge Shield for another summer.
Kaik surprisingly made light work of a resurgent Pirates outfit at the Yardarm. Kaik comfortably finishes seventh and Pirates eighth.
In the big game to determine the winner of the Gallaway, the Magpies won the game but the Hawks claimed the prize by a solitary point and gain top spot for the semis.
Varsity dealt to the Spannerheads at the Toolbox to earn a semi against the Hawks, while the GI boys keep the spoon for yet another year.
Zingers claimed sixth spot when it easily accounted for the Ponies at home, and the Onion boys collapsed-to ninth and finish an unenviable second last.
The semifinals
The 18-game round robin is over for another year, so it all comes down to this: Southern v Taieri at 1pm and Harbour v Varsity at 3pm at the Greenhouse tomorrow to decide our finalists.
I have been calling these games forever and these could be two of the tightest semis yet.
It's hard to determine the winners but here goes.
Southern goes in as slight favourite over the Eels in the first semi.
The Magpies pack is as strong as ever with Moff, Thompson, Knight and Mafi all solid players.
The backs have struggled to match the pack's high standards over the last few years but the Walden bros, Hosie, Cargo and Gordon have been good this year.
Throw in Josh Ioane, who I think could be the best five-eighth in town, and they go close.
The Eels are the defending champs and their pack, with Lentjes, Scott, O'Connell, Larsen and McLennan, is as good as any.
Collins, Rupene, Young and Miller are good backs, and throw in point-scoring machine Casey and they are hard to beat.
Whoever wins the battle of the pivots wins the game. Southern, just.
A point to ponder, though: is Southern fit enough?
I have been beating the Hawks' drum all year, so the other semi is there for them to lose.
Varsity has been the form side leading into this and, with Faddes and Stark out wide, the students have the pace to be match-winners.
Whiting and Smith are Otago players in waiting and they could hold the key over an inexperienced Hawks pair.
The pack is solid with a potent loose trio in Hunt, Wolfreys and Teu.
Harbour will match, if not edge, the Varsity pack and has powerful ball runners in T-Pole, Tonga and especially Dawai.
Loosies May and Elton are underrated.
In the backs, Morris and Halaleva have been good all year.
It could also come down to battle of the young five-eighths in Smith for Varsity and Tomkinson for the Hawks.
Harbour will win if it controls its discipline - and that is quite a big if'!Country rugbyAll country competitions are in semifinal mode this weekend as well.
In Central, Maniototo owns the White Horse, is unbeaten for the year and is playing Wakatipu at home in one semifinal at Stonehenge.
The Ant-hill mob (the Hore bros) just has to turn up to win.
The Bulls from A-Town' host Alex and, although they are harder to pick than a $2 mixture, they win and go through to the final.
Down south, Clutha is further ahead than Phar Lap and will dish up the Valley.
Toko and Heriot will be a close-run thing so I'll take the upset - Heriot by half a point.
Lower grades
In premier 2, Dunedin (50) leads Varsity (49) with daylight to third and, with three games to go, they are guaranteed to finish one and two.
Four teams - Southern (37), Taieri (36), Kaik (33) and Eastern (31) - are playing for third and fourth.
It will be a Varsity v Dunedin final.
The Magpies (40) and AU (39) look set to finish one and two in premier colts. Super Coach II - Little J. C. jun - tipped over Super Coach's Magpies on Tuesday night and is vying for the top Super Coach tag.
The Makos (34), Taieri (32), Varsity (31), SBHS (29) and OBHS (28) are in a dogfight for the other two spots.
The cut-off is 40 points with three games to go and I've got the Makos and Varsity as favourites to complete the top four.
The interesting bits
I wrote about Rory Ferguson, the young loosie from McGlashan who couldn't make the under-18 Highlanders camp.
The ''heavies'' from Johnnies wrote a ''please explain'' letter to the ORFU on his exclusion from that squad.
They received a reply that he wasn't considered good enough.
Staggering.
I'm convinced it's because he was tangled up with the ''dark side'' (league). Somebody should look at this.
Who is Theo Commissaris?
(Yes, I should know - he's in my form XV, but on name only!)
He played for the Sassenachs on Tuesday after being in town for a week.
He's obviously from Greece and here chasing a relevant credit card!
For that matter, who is Nela Manu, apart from being Nacho's brother, who also played in that game?
He hasn't played at all!Another player has turned up in town and hasn't played anywhere.
Jack Wilson - more next week.
President Jack O'Dea from the Sharks, as previously stated, had one duty this year - to organise the Otago union's life members' function.
He is already in a war of words with union president ''Big Willis'' from Lawrence over the date.
It clashes with an Otago game! What a sad end to such a stellar administrative career.
This weekend
Lost to Chris Bell last weekend. I am a sad and lonely figure after a devastating couple of losses.
Up against Scoreboard rent-a-mouth Craig Cumming (aka Arthur Daley) this weekend.
The Magpies (12-) just over the Eels, and the Hawks (12-) just over Varsity.
But remember, fitness and discipline respectively will tell the story - mark my words!
The late mail
A Porsche crashed down at the Lobster Pot by a ''heavy foot''.
Surely it wasn't Dunedin's most prominent and sturdy accountant let loose again?
