High stakes in Bush battle

Gladstone will be desperate to end East Coast's unbeaten run when they meet in a Wairarapa-Bush premier division rugby match at Whareama tomorrow.
A win to Gladstone would keep them in serious contention for the semi-finals a little further down the track, while a loss would see them clearly on the back foot.
That Gladstone are capable of at least causing a few heart flutters in the East Coast camp cannot be argued.
Of all the other premier division sides, they are probably the best equipped to give East Coast a decent run for their money in the backs and they also have enough ball-winning talent in the forwards to suggest they can break even in the all-important battle for possession.
This promises to be a match in which the respective inside-back combinations have a huge say in the end result with whoever makes the better judgment calls giving their team what would very probably be a winning advantage.
Key playmakers for East Coast will be Matt O'Connor at halfback and Zeb Aporo at first-five and adding to the interest in their performance will be the fact they seem likely to be starting in those positions for Wairarapa-Bush in the early stages of their Heartland campaign.
Their Gladstone counterparts, Inia Katia and John Bailey, are yet to make it into the representative squad but they have both been success stories on the club scene, and for very different reasons. Whereas Katia is always apt to do the unorthodox through rapid acceleration and nifty footwork, Bailey generally plays it by the book.
In midfield, too, there should be an interesting duel between two players competing for places on the Heartland stage - Jesse McGilvary (East Coast) and Michael Vuicikau (Gladstone) - and with both of them invariably taking the direct route on attack the sureness of their tackling will be well and truly put under the microscope.
Pioneer will have been buoyed by their win over Eketahuna last weekend when they played most of the last hour with just 14 men but they will need to have the same fire in their bellies if they are to repulse the Marist challenge at Memorial Park.
Marist will know a third successive defeat for them will mean the end of their title aspirations and if that doesn't guarantee they come out determined to give it their best shot nothing will. The physicality of the exchanges was the highlight of the Kapene Cup encounter between these two teams and nothing will be different here.
The big questionmark over Carterton's ability to test Eketahuna at Eketahuna revolves around the composition of their backline with both Jono Hurley and Lance Stevenson listed as doubtful. Without players of their calibre they could have to rely on the forwards to call the tune and with the ruggedness of their pack being Eketahuna's main strength that could prove a big ask for the maroons.
Greytown have made a flier to the start of their campaign, having won two from two, and if they can beat Martinborough at Greytown a semi-final spot will be staring them in the face. Martinborough badly need a victory and they will fancy their prospects of achieving enough dominance in the forwards to get the result they want.
For Featherston and Masterton Red Star, their match at Featherston won't be seen as a semifinal indictor as it would be a huge surprise if either side made it that far. Rather, it will be a case of providing an opportunity to chalk up their first win.