LEAGUE - Portland out to prove point

Portland Panthers will be out to prove that their top-of-the-table position is no fluke when they line up against Hikurangi Stags at Tikipunga Park tomorrow.
The Panthers have been the surprise package of the competition to date and currently share the lead in the Whangarei and Districts League with Takahiwai Warriors, who are the only team to have defeated them this season.
The Panthers have won the rest of their matches, including inflicting the first and only defeat to date on the Ngawha Saints two weeks ago.
The Stags went very close to emulating the Panthers' performance at Ngawha Prison on Saturday but they conceded a try with three minutes left on the clock to go down 18-20.
Hikurangi player-coach Joe Rau said the Stags have been working hard all week to iron out the problems they found in their game plan at Ngawha Prison.
"The team has had a flogging at training for the past two nights and hopefully we'll be better at carrying out our plays this week, because we mucked it up last week," Rau said.
The Stags were without two of their front-line players against Ngawha last week, who fell foul of the Corrections Department vetting procedure for visiting players. Rau was disappointed for one of the players in particular, whose problem with the law dated back more than 10 years.
He said that unlike previous years, no one in the competition is taking Portland lightly.
"They've been training this year, which is a bit of difference from previous years, and that's why they've been competing with the top teams," he said.
"Having Sam (TeNamu) as their coach has helped them finally find the right ingredients they need to actually do well this year and we won't be taking anything for granted on Saturday."
Ngawha host Moerewa Tigers tomorrow in what should be a fairly even contest.
The defending champions have been a little inconsistent so far this season but are still handily placed in the competition.
The Tigers, the Saints and Kaikohe Lions are all perched two points behind Portland and Takahiwai but this weekend's results could thin out the chasing pack.
Kaikohe are on the road to Marist tomorrow and will be favoured to win their encounter unless Marist can find something that has been eluding them in their matches to date. The 2006 champions are still rebuilding after losing many of their players at the beginning of the season and have yet to win a match.
Also winless after six rounds of competition are the Northern Wairoa Bulls, who will find it tough to break that habit when they travel to Takahiwai to play this weekend. The Bay Slayers have the bye this weekend.