THE OIL
Predicting how a Heartland Championship team is going to perform in any given season can be a tricky business.
At this level — where the attitudes can be professional but the budgets are very much amateur, and roster turnover can be high — you tend to see big swings in form from one year to the next.
So, um, yeah. Not sure whether to predict North Otago to win the Meads Cup or to scrape into the playoffs, Highlanders-like, and be content with having a crack at the Lochore Cup.
Half of the team looks moderately experienced, half looks new or relatively untested.
For every position that appears to have a preferred starter, there is a position open for the taking.
The Old Golds performed reasonably well last year, and finishing fourth — reaching the playoffs for a 21st straight season, extending their own New Zealand provincial record — was a decent effort.
Outstanding loose forwards Toni Taufa and Sean Jansen are major losses from the pack, while Abel Magalogo vacates the No 10 jersey that has had many temporary owners in recent seasons.
THE KEY MEN
Manulua Taiti is the heart and soul of the Old Golds now, inheriting the mantle once worn by Old Boys team-mates Ralphie Darling and Lemi Masoe.
Taiti is a warrior and an all-action forward who can provide the glue between a powerful front row, a drastically reshaped loose trio and a backline that has some question marks but plenty of potential.
The backline is all about two men.
Hayden Todd is a class act in the midfield, and the New Zealand Heartland representative will be asked to provide guidance to a new-look 9-10 combination and get the ball to some dangerous outside backs.
Levi Emery, a player of origin, is back in the No 15 jersey — for now, as he has been released by Southland but could be recalled — and the Old Golds will be delighted if he can show all his talent at the back.
Mataitini Feke (switching from second five to halfback), workhorse Kurow openside Josh Reid, and hookers Hayden Tisdall and Sam Sturgess could all have big roles to play.
THE NEW BOYS
Seta Koroitamana is the most interesting name added to the original squad.
The powerful loose forward has nearly 70 caps for Mid Canterbury and has been a regular in the New Zealand Heartland team.
Mone Samate, a Dunedin-based winger who joined North Otago club rugby in time to be classed as a local, has some gas, and Otago University centre-fullback Jermaine Pepe has bags of potential.
Josh Robertson-Weepu is the latest player from outside the region to be given a chance to make the first five jersey his own.
Expect various imports (capped at three) to be tried in the early rounds as the Old Golds settle on their final squad.
Taieri lock Brodie Hume and Dunedin prop Rohan Wingham are unavailable due to injury this weekend but could be key men come the crunch stage of the season.
THE COACH
Some questions for Jason Forrest, at the helm for a fourth season.
1. What do you make of your squad this season?
"Exciting. We’ve got a good mix of guys, and they’ve all put in some really hard work. I think we’ve got huge potential. Now it’s just about putting it all together. We’re not quite there because it’s been a really disrupted pre-season, and we probably just need time for a few guys to realise this is a bit different from club footy."
2. How will Hayden Tisdall go as captain?
"Tizzy’s a leader. He just leads by actions, and the boys will follow him. And he has a good support crew behind him."
3. What do you make of your loan players?
"We’ve got a few options, which is great, and they’re all putting their hand up. And we’ve got Levi Emery and Ben McCarthy as player of origin options. We are hoping Jacob Coghlan could also come into the mix. We’ve got five weeks to get guys registered, so we will be having a look at a few of them."
4. Outside North Otago, which are the teams to watch?
"South Canterbury, obviously. They’ve got real continuity and a couple of very good loan players. So they will be tough.
"And West Coast, for me. They’ve recruited well, they’ve been unbeaten in preseason, and I think they could be someone to look out for."
THE DRAW
Interesting, as much as anything.
North Otago starts its campaign with a rather odd fixture, a Sunday night game against Wairarapa-Bush in Palmerston North to fit in with the Sky Television schedule.
Then it’s a home game against Buller, before the Hanan Shield clash with defending champion South Canterbury on the road.
Two home games (against Mid Canterbury and Horowhenua-Kapiti) are followed by Thames Valley away, West Coast at home, and King Country away.
The Mid Canterbury game is in Kurow, and the South Canterbury game is in Fairlie.
Heartland rugby reverts to the usual format, so the top four teams qualify for the Meads Cup, the next four the Lochore Cup, and the bottom four miss out.
THE OTHER TEAMS
It obviously hurts to say it, but South Canterbury really has got its act together and is a warm favourite to win a second straight Meads Cup.
The green and blacks were relentless in 2021, winning all eight round-robin games (with a points difference of plus-241) then smashing Thames Valley in a straight final.
Start praying now because it looks like South Canterbury, riding a 16-game winning streak against Heartland opposition and confidence from a real crack at Hawke’s Bay in the Ranfurly Shield challenge, is easily the team to beat. Darn it.
Thames Valley (in its centennial year) should be decent, Mid Canterbury has enlisted former Highlanders captain Nasi Manu, and Whanganui should not be far off the pace.
