The battle of words begins

Are Wanganui playing cat and mouse with the naming of their squad for the Heartland Championship Meads Cup rugby final with Wairarapa-Bush at Cooks Gardens, Wanganui on Saturday?
Much has been made of the number of injuries suffered by Wanganui in their relatively comfortable 30-17 semi-final victory over Mid-Canterbury, but reading between the lines it will surprise if they are not at full strength for the big one.
It's the old story of team management talking up injury hassles before a game in the hope of lulling their opposition into a false sense of security, but Wairarapa-Bush boss Peter Russell is no fool, and the Wanganui banter is wisely being dismissed as being no more than that.
At the same time, however, Wanganui coach Milton Haig has suggested there could be a couple of changes to his line-up from last weekend, not because he was unhappy with his team's effort but because the length of the season was becoming a factor for some.
Haig has been quoted in the Wanganui Chronicle ? where he works in the advertising department ? as saying: "You might do (see the odd change). We need to have a look at each individual, their performance and what they're at, and say to yourself?do we have someone who doesn't have the game time in their legs the others have, and can they add just as much, if not more, than that player is giving us at the moment."
While video coverage of Wanganui's semi-final would suggest it was nowhere near as competitive and bruising as Wairarapa-Bush's nerve-wracking 25-19 victory over North Otago at Masterton on the same day, Haig is talking the performance up "it was a huge effort, it was a pretty physical game at the end of a 12-13 week stint."
And the Chronicle has been quick to gain extra mileage out of the so-called injury concerns with an article which says some unorthodox ice water treatment could be used to aid the recovery of star flanker Peter Rowe from a sprained ankle.
In a story straight out of Boys Own they say Rowe might be facing a few extra dips in the ice cold stream running through his hill country farm not far from Taihape.
Apparently his dad Gavin Rowe swears by it as a remedy for strains and despite Rowe being on crutches the day after the game he was looking forward to a full week of sheep docking. Hence the water treatment.
"He's tough, he'll be there on Saturday " a proud Gavin said of his son.
The Chronicle keeps the tears flowing with another piece on key attacker Aateria Ateria, whose name might suggest that Wairarapa-Bush's own Simanu Simanu is his role model.
Ateria is reputed to have a groin strain after being "stretched" the wrong way in an early tackle ... an injury which caused him to cramp up in Saturday's game, meaning he was short of a metre or so of his "normal explosive pace".
And the tears don't stop there?..Leon Mason, heavily involved in attacking and defensive roles, says his shoulder is sore, centre Logan Vaughan took a hefty knock to a knee and Steelie Koro a bash to the ribs.
"Other players are suffering from a long season-and in the case of the Taihape-Raetihi-Ohakune-Waioiuru connection- a lot of travelling after hard days of work??and this week the likes of Rowe, Matt Gilbert, Dan Aldworth and Shelton O'Hagen are all involved in docking too," the Chronicle laments.
Nothing though of course about the fact that Aldworth is a former Eketahuna player whose rugby expertise was nurtured in the Wairarapa-Bush area.
There's confident talk too from the Wanganui players over their prospects of repeating their lucky 28-22 top six play-off win over Wairarapa-Bush.
Although first-five Mason did have the grace to say that some tactical thinking might be required on how to contain Wairarapa-Bush's outside-in defensive screen which caused his side so many players in that first encounter.
But no mention from the Wanganui camp that if Wairarapa-Bush had made the most of their prime scoring chances in that match they might well have had a 10-point winning margin themselves at the game's end. Rather they questioned the "note of cockiness" in the voice of Wairarapa-Bush coach Peter Russell when he was asked about his team's prospects.
"He believes his team can turn the tables on that 28-22 loss to Wanganui. But then, again, that note of cockiness might have been more one of light hearted relief- because Wairarapa-Bush were pretty lucky to get by North Otago in their semi-final after an apparent try was disallowed."
Lucky be damned. Wairarapa-Bush won on their merits and Wanganui's reluctance to concede that might be just the fuel they need to produce something even more special on Saturday.
GO THE BUSH!!!!!