Pioneer to field ?a family affair

Two father-and-son combinations and two sets of brothers, one of which contains no fewer than four players, will be turning out for Pioneer in the 2005 Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby competition which kicks off on Saturday.
Doing the hard yards in the front row for the Masterton-based team will be former Wairarapa-Bush prop Tereina Henare and his son Eruera while calling the shots at first-five in the backline will be Ben Fox whose son Jordan will be on the wing.
It is not the first time a father and son have played in the premier grade here with Steve and Russell Thompson having turned out together for Gladstone but it would be very unusual for two such combinations to be playing in the one team.
Competing for places in the Pioneer pack are three Te Whare brothers, locks Pikea and Henare and loosie Boyboy, and snapping at their heels will be yet another brother, Koko, at halfback.
And also in the forwards will be the Rolls brothers, Nathan and Isaac, who can both play on the flank or at No.8.
Coach Nuki Gordon said Pioneer were always regarded as a close-knit side and believes having so many family members playing in the one team will be to their advantage.
"We're big on building a strong team spirit and it's got to be a huge plus in that respect,' he said.
Several members of last year's Pioneer line-up which made it through to the semi-finals of the 2004 first division series will be back on deck again.
Included among them are backs Glen Ferguson, Tipi Rimene and Richard Carroll (who will miss the earlier games through injury) utility player Jamie Smallman and forwards Anton Kainuku and Dave Ewe.
Joining the pack from East Coast is talented back rower Troy Mason and returning to the game after a season's absence is experienced three-quarter Johnny McGregor.
The major loss from the 2004 squad is hard-running second-five Tom Harmon who has transferred to Carterton.
Coach Gordon said he would be encouraging his team to play a free-flowing style of rugby with the emphasis being on scoring tries.
Pioneer will start their campaign with a match against last year's beaten finalists Greytown-Tuhirangi at Greytown.
The combined side has Anthony Morris as coach and should be well served by the powerful front row of Dylan Higginson, Bruce McKenzie and Jon Tanner. Wairarapa-Bush reps Sylvanus Iro and Norm Henricksen are other forwards who should grab the linelight.
The tactically-sound Mark Childs will be at first-five and will be out to provide hard-running midfielders Nick Scott and Tavita Isaac plenty of opportunity to show their paces.
Their loose forwards should be a strength of the Linden Mayo-coached Puketoi side this season. Competing for places there are the impressive Dee Hawkins, Evan Small, AJ McIntyre and Mike Peacock.
The experienced Stu Berry and Jared Bambury are likely to be in the middle row with Matua Puia, Hugh Ramsden and promising hooker Roy Lawson making up the front row.
A gain fom Hawke's Bay in Dave Peacock will be at halfback and Bo Milner and Gordon Hart will be in the five-eighths.
Puketoi is at home to Martinborough for their first round encounter and coach Andy Donaldson concedes the southerners could take a game or two to hit their straps this season.
Spearheading their backline will be midfielder Owen Coulson and halfback Ritchie McGregor while prominent amongst the forwards should be lock Sam Walsh and loosies Josh Hawkins and Jeremy Sargent.
East Coast and Carterton will meet at Whareama on Saturday with East Coast coach Justin Herbert acknowledging that his team will improve with the run. They will again have the services of astute playmaker Mark Percy at halfback while other backs expected to shine are midfielder Temaika Mason and fullback Greg Paku. Front rowers Sam Morris and Mike Peacock and No.8 and captain Mark Williams should be leading lights in the pack.
A spate of injuries has disrupted Carterton's preparation for their opening game with Steve Hurley, who coaches the side in tandem with Rex Playle, reporting that "four or five" first choice players are likely to be on the sidelines.
The front row of Richard McDonald, Logan Ili and Josh Piliata will be a definite strength for Carterton while there are few better lineout jumpers than lock Shane Nama. Sure to make their presence felt in the rearguard are halfback Nathan Sanson and utility players Simon Searle and Glen Bunny.
Providing the action at Memorial Park on Saturday will be Gladstone and Marist.
Gladstone coach Dave Drummond is pleased with the way his team is shaping although with something like 10 new faces this season it may take a couple of weeks before combinations are up to scratch.
Among the gains are flankers Damon Neal and Steve Wilkinson who will be joined in the loose trio by Wairarapa-Bush rep Sam Henderson at No.8. Captaining the side from hooker will be Hamish McGregor while the inside pairing of James Bruce and Jimmy Logue will call the shots in the backs.
Two major losses for Gladstone this season are Wairarapa-Bush duo Mike Robinson and Dan Joblin with Robinson now playing for Upper Hutt and Joblin in the Otago area.
Marist, which has Richard Pomare as coach, will be wanting to show that last season's drop to second division is now a distant memory.
They have proven performers in Patrick Rimene, Ben Couch, Jaco Pietrse and Nathan Couch (who will be a late starter) in their backs while if the loss of Kerry Hargood will weaken their lineout they can still expect big things from other regular pack members Matt Rowlands, Geordie Waldron, Corey Reid and Dan Taloa.
Defending champions Eketahuna will be at home to Masterton Red Star on Saturday.
Eketahuna have dominated the senior first division competition for the past two seasons but things could be different in 2005 with coach Graeme Cheetham having to do without at least 12 members of last year's squad, including star acts Stu Smith, Dan Griffin, Kojak Faiso, Simanu Simanu , Hamish McKenzie and Anthony Hullena, all of whom played for Wairarapa-Bush.
A new arrival from Taranaki in Matt Cox will play at loose forward for Eketahuna and other forwards will include Wairarapa-Bush reps Steve Olds, Rob Foreman and Brendan Walker Several members of last year's Eketahuna colts side will also be playing at the premier level this season.
Masterton Red Star return to first division play after a season off and coach Wayne Loader is optimistic his forwards, in particular,will give a good account of themselves. Leading the way there will be front rowers Nathan Haglund and Hemi Hart, the Howie brothers, Marcus and Sam, lock Peter Start and loosies Sean Hayes and Chris Payne. Two backs sure to make an impression are halfback Marcus Henson and first-five Jamie Fraser.