The pride of the Moerewa Tigers is on the line this weekend when they travel down to Stanmore Bay Reserve in Whangaparaoa tomorrow to play Turangawaiwai in the national club competition. After winning the Whangarei and Districts competition two weeks ago, Moerewa were still celebrating the following Monday, when the NewZealand Rugby League told them a fixture against the Waikato championship's runner-up had been brought forward a week. Moerewa felt the programme had been rushed into but went ahead and prepared for the match anyway. "Not that it affected our celebrations actually, but we didn't really have any choice," Moerewa coach Bill Mackey said. Last week's rushed fixture turned into a disaster when Turangawaiwai turned up at Simson Park to find the Tigers ready - but there were no NZRL-sanctioned referees and the match couldn't be played. But if you think the visitors were upset, think again, according to Mackey - the postponement suited Turangawaiwai's plans. "They were pleased because half of their team had to work ... they had brought about nine of their reserves. This week we're expecting them to be a lot stronger," he said. The postponement means that Moerewa had to leave their stronghold at Simson Park to meet Turangawaiwai "half-way" for the match. "That was a good opportunity to put them away right there and then but we'll have to do it this week instead," he said. Turangawaiwai will be a tough challenge for Moerewa, especially after Hikurangi was beaten by Waikato champions Taniwharau 60-20 at Huntly last Saturday. "We're expecting a hard game but I think it will go our way," Mackey said. The match starts at 2.30pm tomorrow.
