This week's New Zealand shearing championships in Te Kuiti seem set to provide a classic showdown after wins by world champion team members and Hawke's Bay guns Cam Ferguson and John Kirkpatrick leading into the event.
It was a particularly special moment for Ferguson when he won the Waitomo Caves Shears last Saturday, his first open final win in the North Island since November 2010, the year he won the Golden Shears open final in Masterton and the world individual title in Wales.
And he backed up his latest win with a fourth to Kirkpatrick in the Taranaki Shears final in Stratford on Sunday.
Troubled by a back injury for half this season, Ferguson still managed to win the world teams title with Napier gun Kirkpatrick in Masterton three weeks ago, as well as finish runner-up in the Golden Shears open and world championships individual finals.
He headed for the South Island to get back into winning form, saying after his weekend efforts: "The back's all good. Heaps of work. Back to normal."