Tui Cup thriller in store

Everything points to Carterton and Gladstone having a battle royal in their Wairarapa-Bush Tui Cup premier division grand final rugby match at Memorial Park, Masterton, tomorrow.
By winning through to the competition decider in close, tense semifinals last weekend both teams proved they can handle the pressure of the big occasion and odds are they will be involved in another humdinger here.
There is, however, likely to be a stark difference in the tactical approach of the two combatants.
Defending champions Carterton, for their part, have made it no secret that they see the experience and sheer ruggedness of their forwards as their main attribute. Under Steve Hurley's astute coaching they won't ignore their backs but they will be looking to those wearing smaller numbers to lay the foundations for victory.
In Steve Thompson Gladstone also have a coach who understands the importance of playing to strengths. In past years you would have anticipated them also leaning towards a forward-dominated game but now they have a backline with a good mix of flair and speed and consequently they prefer to play a more expansive style of rugby these days.
In many ways, of course, Gladstone's penchant for using the attacking skills of their backs only adds to the importance of tomorrow's struggle for supremacy up front, especially for Carterton, which probably needs to gain some semblance of dominance there if they are to repeat their success of 12 months ago.
In Carterton's favour is they have a powerful scrum, spearheaded by frontrowers Blair Heming, Mana Apiata and Dylan Higgison and locks Tomasi Kedrabuka and Paddy Cassidy. And in Kedrabuka and flanker John McFadzean they have players capable of making a big impact at lineout time, too.
Whether the maroons will even attain an edge in those crucial ball-winning departments is, however, debatable. Gladstone's front row of Aaron Cook, Joe Nuku and Lance Graves are an experienced lot and they probably have greater depth in the lineouts where Andrew McLean, Corey Reid, Duncan Law and captain John Stevenson can all be expected to make an impact.
The lack of a "flier" in the two loose-forward combinations makes it difficult to predict who will call the tune in the race to the breakdowns. Carterton will possibly look to Cory Price to be their "rabbit" with skipper Mike Wakefield and McFadzean in close support, while for Gladstone it could be Alistair Potts leading the chase with Law and Stevenson on his shoulders.
There is no shortage, though, of forwards who don't mind running the ball back at their opposition. Higgison, Kedrabuka, McFadzean and Wakefield should all shine in that regard for Carterton and Law, McLean, Reid and Stevenson for Gladstone.
Both sides are sure, too, to look for profit from their forwards in the "pick and go" and the rolling maul and, at the same time, shut down their opposition through aggressive close-quarter defence.
Gladstone have a veritable excitement machine in Inia Katia at halfback. He was the star of his side's semifinal win with his elusive running and eye for a gap and you can safely wager that Carterton will have plans in place aimed at nullifying his influence tomorrow.
Outside Katia Gladstone have solidness in the form of five-eighths John Bailey and Jason Coffey, another potential match winner in the strong-running Michael Vuicikau at centre and a back three of Joseva Naivalu, Peter Oosteroff and Andrew McKay who all have the pace to be a danger on the counterattack.
Dependable is probably the best word to describe a Carterton backline that doesn't have the attacking brilliance of their Gladstone counterparts. The emphasis for them tomorrow will be on keeping their forwards on the front foot, either through the boots of halfback Jason Scott or first-five Codie Whittaker or by using second-five Brock Price as a target man for the loosies to run off. For centre Jono Hurley, wings Sam Hull and Deon Field and fullback Jared Nyssen it will be a case of taking what chances come their way and ensuring tackles are safely made.
Goal kicking played a huge part in the results of both semifinals last weekend and if the grand final is as close as seems likely it would be no surprise to see it decide who lifts the Tui Cup at the game's end.
Carterton are fortunate to have two strings to their bow there in the shape of Nyssen and Hurley, while Bailey will have that responsibility for Gladstone.
Kick-off time is 3pm.
So, who to win? Sadly for Gladstone we will plump for them - sad because we tipped East Coast and Martinborough in the semifinals last weekend ... and we all know what happened there, don't we?