Sideline, ringside places to be as action attractions hit North

SPORT in Northland is about to start pouring in, with an international boxing event and the Blues versus Northland Barbarians happening next weekend.

As if an international boxing event wasn't enough of a change to the usual rigours of winter sport, the Blues will make their first Northland appearance this year at Toll Stadium on Friday.

The Blues and Northland Barbarians will kick the busy weekend off at 6.30pm on Friday, with the Wellsford Primary and Kamo Intermediate Black teams playing the final of the Maggie Dixon Rippa Rugby Tournament as a curtain-raiser.

While there has not been much preview coverage on the match as yet, next week there will be a Northland team named and excitement will start building.

In between the Blues on Friday night and the Boxing Explosion 3 international event on Saturday, there will be the usual Saturday sport happening throughout Northland.

Once all the football, hockey, rugby, rugby league, and netball teams have wrapped up for the day boxers will take centre stage in the evening.

For me, I enjoy boxing so am looking forward to this event coming to our region.

What is appealing about this boxing, though, is the lack of smack-talk going on, it's about boxing and boxing well. No Francois Bothas to name-call, and no supposed superstars such as Hasim Rahman who don't deliver.

Exciting for Northlanders is the chance to see our locals - Deanne Carpenter, Magan Maka, and Josh Bowman - fighting in our backyard.

As if seeing a team of Northlanders take on the Blues, who have had a distinct lack of Taniwha talent this season, wasn't enough we get to see a different group test themselves on the Saturday.

Hopefully both events are enough to get Northlanders off their backsides and on to the sidelines to support sport in the region, after all it isn't that often such attractions come to us.