Giants playing for history

Giants can create history by taking a clear lead on the Intercity men's softball series points table when they play Porirua City United at Porirua tomorrow.
It would be the first time Giants have been in that lofty position in a competition which sees the premier teams from two of the country's most powerful softballing provinces, Wellington and Hutt Valley, engage in combat.
Points released yesterday have Porirua City United and Giants equal at the top of the points table with 10pts apiece although the former have slightly the better record of the two. They have gone five matches without defeat while Giants have played six and won five.
That Giants is capable of toppling a Porirua side including three of the best players in the country, the Makea brothers, Thomas and Fabian, and Tane Richardson was illustrated early in the season when they scored a 4-2 victory over them in a pre-season tournament.
Coach Tony Nixon recalls the secret of that success being a strong all-round performance on defence and offence and he says nothing less will be required for a repeat result tomorrow.
"They (Porirua) don't have any weaknesses so you simply have to play better than them on the day, you can't rely on them to be slack in any one area," he said. "And if you don't turn up with your own A game then they'll likely punish you big time."
Nixon makes no secret of his regard for Thomas Makea in particular, labelling him as "very probably the best player in the world".
Not only is he an imposing force in the batting box but equally as destructive in the field.
"He is a guy who can practically win matches on his own and when he has the support that a team like Porirua gives him then he is even more dangerous," Nixon said.
Tony Nixon recalls the secret of that success being a strong all-round performance on defence and offence.
The Giants coach is confident though that even against a batter of Makea's calibre the Giants pitching staff will rise to the occasion.
Justin Karaitiana and Ritchie Clarke have been in grand form all season and the bigger the challenge the better they seem to play.
Giants have also been making a huge impression with the bat, something proved by the fact they have now registered more runs than any other team in the Intercity series.
In their six games they have scored 43 runs while conceding nine while Porirua have scored 31 and conceded 2 in their five games.
Nixon believes too the first couple of innings will have a big say in the outcome of tomorrow's game.
"We always seem to perform best when we get a jump on the opposition early on & the guys really seem to enjoy defending a lead," he said.