Gladstone must bite the bullet

Top qualifiers Gladstone will feel the heat when for probably the first time ever quarter-final matches are played in the Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby championship tomorrow.
Elimination at the hands of an Eketahuna side which actually made it into the last eight without even winning one of their six preliminary round matches would be an absolute injustice for a Gladstone team which won six from six but they won't need reminding that in any one-off game anything can happen.
Gladstone has also been treated badly by a countback system which rather than have seedings as the first of the countback systems should the teams be level pegging at the end of ordinary time allows for 10 minutes each way of extra time to be played.
And if that does not produce a winner either then a further 10 minutes of extra time will be played with the first team to register points during that period making it to the semis.
Ridiculous that such a format may be Gladstone have, of course, no alternative but to bite the bullet and try to make the most of a bad thing against opposition which basically has everything to gain and nothing to lose.
Suddenly Eketahuna have been given the opportunity to turn what so far has been a frustrating season for them because of injuries and unavailabilities completely on its head. Win tomorrow and they are back in the competition race, boots and all.
To have any chance of upsetting Gladstone, however, it will be imperative that Eketahuna's tactical approach is somewhat more conservative than it was when they were comfortably beaten by Pioneer last weekend.
For some unfathomable reason they tried to play Pioneer at their own free flowing style of play for most of the match and their lack of pace and inventiveness in their backs was clearly exposed.
The folly of that approach was well illustrated in the last 10 minutes when Eketahuna reverted to keeping the ball in the forwards and their unity and vigour on the drive brought the reward of three tries. Had they done that all game a very different scoreline might well have resulted.
Eketahuna must travel to Gladstone then intent on controlling the forward exchanges to the point where they largely nullify the threat posed them by a Gladstone backline with ample try scoring potential.
And, conversely, Gladstone will want to at least break somewhere near even in the battle for possession so that the attacking capabilities of their rearguard can be given full rein.
On any normal day you'd anticipate with confidence that latter scenario prevailing and Gladstone winning by a comfortable margin but with everybody back to square one and so much at stake this is no normal day, is it? Yes, a Gladstone victory still remains the most likely result but there could be a few extra worry lines on the faces of their management team before it occurs.
Selecting the other three first division sides to make it to the semis is fraught with difficulties as well because here too past form will mean absolutely nothing when battle commences.
Carterton will start as favourites against Martinborough in their match at Carterton but they have struggled to hit top gear in their last couple of matches and a similar situation here could see them in trouble.
Martinborough are a side who can hustle and bustle with the best of them and they will be especially dangerous if they can manipulate Carterton to the stage where they lose their structure and composure.
For their part Carterton have enough bulk and experience in their engine room to quell the Martinborough challenge by dominating matters up front but retention of possession for long periods will be vital to their cause. A Carterton win is predicted but not by much.
Greytown and Marist meet at Greytown for the second successive weekend with Greytown's narrow 8-3 win of seven days previous actually deciding which of the two had home advantage.
The Greytown victory on that occasion was based around the edge they obtained in the struggle for forward supremacy and no doubt they will be aiming to repeat that situation tomorrow.
The danger for Greytown though is that Marist have tended to run hot and cold all season and after one of their colder performances last Saturday they are just as likely to produce something special this time round.
That Marist have the experience and talent in the backs to make a huge impact there cannot be argued so their prospects very much depend on whether their pack lifts their effort a notch or two. One suspects they will and maybe that will be enough to get Marist home.
Pioneer and East Coast should have a humdinger of a game at the Park Sportsground with points differential being all that separated them at the end of the preliminary round.
Two factors may, however, count against East Coast here. Firstly, Pioneer seldom fail to produce the goods on their home ground where their large band of loyal supporters are always in good voice and, secondly, the Coasters are coming off the bye which means, in effect, they haven't played for two weeks.
Breaks of that nature do allow teams to freshen up but they also slow momentum and that could be crucial in a match of this importance.
East Coast will know only too well that to have any chance of beating Pioneer they will need to protect possession zealously as Pioneer are at their most dangerous when play breaks up and their pacy loosies and skilful inside backs can utilise their attacking skills to the utmost extent.
Of all the quarter-final matches this is probably the one most likely to go into extra time, which in itself has to be a worry because with games starting at the later time of 2.45pm these days the amount of available light could become a real issue late in the afternoon.
The senior third division is also down to the last eight and they are playing under the same rules as the seniors firsts. Kicking off at 1pm will be the games between Carterton and Featherston at Carterton and Pioneer and East Coast at the Park Sportsground while starting at 2.30pm will be Masterton Red Star v Marist at Memorial Park and Tuhirangi v Gladstone at Pirinoa.