Full strength for Tui Cup rivals

Carterton and Gladstone should be at full strength for their Tui Cup premier division grand final rugby match at Memorial Park, Masterton, on Saturday.
Both Carterton coach Steve Hurley and Gladstone counterpart Steve Thompson were happy to report yesterday their squads had come through their testing semifinal assignments without any injury problems.
Gladstone kicked a last-minute penalty goal to edge out East Coast 11-9 while Carterton defeated Martinborough 12-10 in a match which saw Martinborough throwing everything but the proverbial kitchen sink at them for the last five minutes or so.
The only possible hassle for Carterton will be if Hurley's son Jono experiences difficulties with his travel arrangements.
He was due to fly to Sydney yesterday to take up a tennis coaching appointment at a club not far from the city but was aiming to return home in time to train with the Carterton team on Thursday night and then take the field - probably at centre - on Saturday.
Carterton go into the grand final as defending champions but Steve Hurley - who last coached them to the premier division title in 2006 - admits there was a time in 2011 when making it that far seemed almost out of the question.
"We didn't start too well and while we always knew we would improve as the season went on it wasn't until fairly recently that we started to think really seriously about going all the way," Hurley said.
As it happened it was a couple of narrow losses which helped Carterton turn the corner. The first was when they came from 17-0 down in as many minutes to lose to East Coast by two points and the second when they gave Gladstone a decent fright in pool play before going down 32-37.
"Those games showed us what was possible if we kept at it, we were up against very good sides and we almost won. Confidence-wise they were a big boost," he said.
Hurley makes no secret of the tactics his side will apply against a Gladstone team he rates as the best all-round side in the premier division series.
"We'll look to take them on up front, the focus will be clearly on winning that battle," he said.
"Obviously you aim to play to your strengths and that's where ours are."
Hurley sees the experience of players like skipper Mike Wakefield, Dylan Higgison, John McFadzean and Tomasi Kedrabuka being of huge value when the going gets tough up front.
"We're fortunate to have a lot of leaders in the pack and that can be vital when the pressure goes on, they'll stand up and be counted."
Hurley is pleased, too, with his side's defensive structure, something he knows will need to be right up to scratch in the grand final.
"They [Gladstone] are pretty sharp in the backs and you can't afford to give them space, you have to close them down early," Hurley said.
You might think that with Gladstone already having two wins over Carterton this season Steve Thompson would be openly fancying his team's chances of success on Saturday but he is too astute to be that bold.
Rather Thompson, who was coach when Gladstone last won the premier division championship in 2007, says his team are in exactly the same position as East Coast were going into the semifinals.
"Past results count for nothing when it comes to semis and finals, it's all about what happens on the day," he said. "They [Carterton] are never easy and they won't be this time either."
Thompson admits he thought Gladstone had blown their hopes of making the final when East Coast landed a penalty close to fulltime to give them a one-point advantage.
"I wasn't quite sure how long there was to go but, yes, I thought we were goners.
"And then, of course, we still had to kick the penalty we got with time virtually up, that was bloody nerve-wracking too."
Thompson said the lesson for Gladstone from that semifinal was that discipline was a crucial ingredient in big matches.
"Overall we played well but there were times when we made poor decisions or gave up silly penalties and we were lucky to get away with it."
The Gladstone coach said his team would not be deviating from their usual game plan for the grand final - a plan based around the forwards obtaining enough quality possession to allow their backs to express themselves in an attacking sense. And he also understands Carterton will be placing the emphasis on controlling the forward exchanges.
"I think everybody knows what both teams will be trying to do. It'll all come down to which of us does it best."