Another weekend of tough matches looms as pacesetters Hauraki North come off the bye refreshed and ready to face Paeroa West. The hapless Thames side has already been eliminated from the semi final race and mercifully has the bye this week, leaving the rest of the pack to sort out the pecking order for the top four.

Front runners Hauraki North, rejoin the race for top qualifier, when they run onto the Paeroa Domain against a desperate Paeroa West side. The Magpies’ form has been below par for most of the year however they have managed to accumulate enough points to still have a chance of making the semis. But North is not top of the table by chance and the coaching duo of Messrs. McCallum and McDuff will ensure they are prepared for the West onslaught.

Tairua have an opportunity to cement second place and keep alive their hopes of catching North when they visit Waihi. By the same token, Waihi will regain second place if they win and will dash Tairua’s hopes at the same time. Waihi need to learn from last week’s mistakes if they are to succeed and must maximise home ground advantage. Injuries have been a constant problem for Waihi recently so their bench players have to step up. Tairua have also lost their inspirational coach, Hayden Roe, to injury after making a cameo appearance against Thames and it is doubtful that he will be in attendance at Waihi. Whether this makes a difference or not remains to be seen.

It’s the biggest game in town as Waihou and COBRAS go head to head for the Dr. Dunn trophy and vital points. Form counts for nothing in this fixture as pride and passion take precedence. However the COBRAS outfit looms as the dark horse in this year’s competition, with a heavy, dominant forward pack that Waihou may struggle to contain.

Mercury Bay makes the trip to Waitakaruru to face the only team they couldn’t beat at home in the first round. The importance of this game will not be lost on North, who had the bye last week and they will be ready for the Bay. Ngatea hosts Waihi as both sides look for their first win this round.

COBRAS and the unbeaten Waihou play for the Dr. Lawrence trophy in a Senior B Reserve game in Te Aroha, while winless Paeroa Old Boys is at home to last week’s big winners, North 2.

Ngatea and Waihi Senior C’s are the curtain raiser at Hugh Hayward Domain and Thames C’s play West at 2.00pm, in the only game at Rhodes Park.

Hauraki North Under 19s are at home to Karaka, with a 1.00pm start. Coach Spence has the boys going well and they will enjoy home advantage against keen opposition, as they look to maintain their nine point lead over second placed Patumahoe.

So it’s another big weekend of rugby and good luck to all teams. Get out there and support your club and be a good sport.