It's Semi Final Fever This Weekend

Ground conditions at Gladstone, where the home team will take on Marist, and at Whareama, where East Coast will do battle with Martinborough, are sure to be heavy with the result that low-scoring affairs are practically guaranteed.
They will also mean a change in tactical approach as while all four semi-finalists like to play the game at pace and regularly use the attacking flair of their backs for territorial gain the emphasis tomorrow will be somewhat different.
Now they will need to focus heavily on dominating the forward battle and on having their inside backs adopt a kicking game aimed at ensuring they spend most of their time at the right end of the paddock.
Gladstone have beaten Marist twice already this season, and also in last year's grand final, so they certainly have recent history on their side when assessing the prospects of the two teams tomorrow.
Anybody who has watched club rugby with any regularity this season will also be quick to point to the fact that overall the Gladstone forwards have offered more - much more than their Marist counterparts. In other words they have been consistently good while the Marist pack have tended to run hot and cold.
On that basis then the odds of Gladstone achieving the much-needed domination up front would have to be in their favour but this is a semi-final and that alone should be enough for the Marist forwards to produce something special.
In the likes of Lee Paku, Kyle Karaitiana, Rhys Severn, Geordie Waldron and Joe Nuku they have a nucleus of players who have shown the ability to rise to the occasion in the past while Ben Couch knows what is likely to win a first division title as a midfield back and is now making useful progress on the flank.
Of all the Marist forwards though it is a youngster in James Goodger who has made the biggest impression this season. He has developed into a reliable supplier of lineout ball and his natural athleticism ensures he is seldom far from the centre of action in other facets of the forward game as well.
A current Auckland representative coach actually watched Marist play last weekend and, interestingly enough, it was Goodger he singled out as a player with the potential to make the grade up north.
Gladstone will be pleased to have No.8 Mike Spence now fully recovered from injury and part of their line-up tomorrow. He is their main "go-to man" whenever the requirement is to run the ball at the opposition, either from the back of the scrum or from rolling mauls
In heavy conditions tomorrow every metre gained will be like four times that much, so Spence's ability to get himself over the advantage line promises to be a vital component in the Gladstone game plan.
Gladstone will also be anticipating strength in numbers giving them the edge at lineouts. Tim Fleming, Andrew McLean and Steve Wilkinson are all proven performers for them there and they also have a solid scrum based around Kurt Simmonds and lively hooker Richard Puddy.
In the backs Gladstone have one player who will absolutely relish the prospect of wet-weather rugby, halfback James Bruce. The tougher the going the better he tends to play and you can bet one of his main priorities will be to make life hell behind the scrum for his Marist opposite, probably Daryl Pollock. He did that the last time these two teams met, to the point where it actually played a big part in Gladstone's victory then.
Gladstone have the advantage too of having sound tactical kickers in their backs in Kingi Kawai and Dean Grant while midfielders Mike Shaw and Jordan Watene won't mind if they are used as battering rams for their loosies to run off.
Any rearguard which includes players with the experience and guile of Patrick Rimene and Nathan Couch has to be watched closely no matter what the conditions and Marist are fortunate to be in that position. That duo are sure to have a few tricks up their sleeves.
Fortunate also for both Marist and Gladstone are that they are well served in the goal kicking department, Marist by Rimene and Gladstone by Grant. It wouldn't surprise to find their skills in that area essentially deciding the fate of their teams in this one.
EAST COAST V MARTINBOROUGH
East Coast and Martinborough both belied their seedings to make the semis and, as documented already in the Times-Age this week, their efforts to get this far are the classic rags to riches story &.a story which will, of course, enter another chapter for the winner next weekend when they play off for the first division title.
The most intriguing aspect of tomorrow's encounter is that both sides have been playing a very similar style of rugby, a style which largely depends on hustling and bustling their opposition into mistakes.
Tomorrow though they may need to be more structured and patient because of the conditions and it's fair to suggest that whoever copes best in that respect is likely to take the spoils.
East Coast's dominance in the scrums was a definite highlight of their victory over Pioneer last weekend with front rowers Chris Starling, Deon Mitchell and Darren Walker leading the way,
Englishman Starling has been a huge gain for the Coasters this season and is in the sort of form which must see him in the reckoning for representative selection, and he's not the only East Coast forward you could say that about. Lock James Balfour and loosie Joe Feast have been consistently standout performers while the high work rate of experienced loosie Craig Stuart has been a big plus as well.
Impressive as the Coasters have been in the scrums though they won't get any change from Martinborough there as the latter also have a powerful front row in the form of Daniel George, Jackson Matthews and a prop simply known as Tennessee.
Seasoned campaigners Matthew O'Neale and Sam Walsh are two of the better line out forwards about and Jared Hawkins is a flanker with the necessary aggression to make a telling impact on attack and defence.
In this match too the onus will be on the inside backs taking options which best serve their teams and to that end the boots of East Coast second-five Te Maika Mason and Martinborough first-five Greg Wilson will play a vital role. They are both hefty punters off the ball and their objective will be keep to their packs going forward on a regular basis.
The losing first division quarter-finalists last weekend are participating in the semi-finals of the plate (or senior seconds) competition tomorrow and here too conditions dictate that anything could happen. Greytown is at home to Eketahuna and Carterton likewise to Pioneer.
In the senior thirds championship the semi-finals see Pioneer up against Featherston at the Park Sportsground and Tuhirangi at home to Masterton Red Star while the President's grade semis have Carterton meeting East Coast at Carterton and Marist playing Gladstone at Memorial Park.