Murphy, Radford set to lead battle to Paihia

Over 700 swimmers will take to the water in Russell on Saturday as part of the State Russell to Paihia swim, including defending champion Bryn Murphy.
Murphy won the inaugural 3.3km swim last year in 39 minutes 51 seconds and will be out to improve on his time and his second place at last month's State Harbour Crossing.
Also hoping to improve his placing at the second race of the New Zealand Ocean Swim Series will be Kane Radford, a top New Zealand open water swimmer.
Radford, the overall 2009-10 series winner, experienced a "tough day at the office" in the Harbour Crossing and is heading north to make amends.
Event director Scott Rice is expecting these two to fight it out for the title but recognises the event is as much about the last person across the line as it is about the winner.
"One of the great things about this series is it allows anyone to line up against some of the best swimmers in the world and complete their own personal challenge. For some people, this will be their first ever open water swimming event and to complete it will be a dream come true."
The top-seeded female swimmer is Charlotte Webby, who won all three of the swims she entered in last year's series.
She missed the first swim of the series this season and will be the one to watch in Russell, with last year's winner Kate Brooke-Peterson not racing.
As well as the 3.3km swim across the harbour, there is also a 1000m swim and a 300m entry-level event, as well as the State OceanKids Swim, which involves a 200m swim along the shoreline.
For three other New Zealand sports stars, the event will provide a new challenge and achievement for their CVs.
New Zealand rugby league player Kevin Locke and his partner and current Black Sticks player Jasmin McQuinn will complete the 1000m swim together, while ex-Silver Fern Tania Dalton is also looking forward to being on the start line.
The Russell to Paihia swim is race two of the State New Zealand Ocean Swim Series. Now in its sixth year, this series attracts some of the world's best open water swimmers, all chasing a $50,000 cash and prize pool and the chance to have their name on the trophy. Elite swimmers accumulate points over the season and their best three results are then added together to determine the overall series winners, who take home a $2000 bonus.