Wairarapa face biggest test

Wairarapa will take a giant step towards winning the inaugural regional super league netball competition if they can beat Hutt Valley 2 at the Genesis Recreation Centre in Masterton on Friday night.
With just three series of matches still to be played Wairarapa is the only unbeaten side and past results suggest that Hutt Valley 2 pose the main threat to their title aspirations.
The record of Hutt Valley 2 makes for interesting reading. They started with a whopping 74-20 win over Kapiti, followed by a 65-52 win over Porirua College Old Girls and a surprising 51-57 loss to another Porirua-based team in KBJ.
Then just Sunday they were expected to be involved in a close battle with Hutt Valley 1 but completely eclipsed their opposition by a comprehensive 64-29.
For their part Wairarapa have beaten Mana 51-42, Kapiti 57-18, Porirua College Old Girls 64-32 and KBJ 47-44.
Friday's match will be the last home game of the season for Wairarapa who will then complete their programme with fixtures against Hutt Valley 1 and Northern United, both at the Walter Nash Stadium in Taita.
Neither game will be easy but if the record book counts for anything Wairarapa should have their measure.
Hutt Valley 1 have won two and lost two of their opening four games-the losses being to Mana and Hutt Valley 2- while Northern United have had big wins over Kapiti (73-40) and PCOG ( 70-35),a one point loss to Mana (40-41) and a first up 58-43 defeat at the hands of Hutt Valley 1.
The final two opponents for Hutt Valley 2 are Northern United and Mana and while victory over Northern United seems very likely Mana could be an entirely different kettle of fish.
Since losing to Wairarapa in their opening game Mana have won their next three matches, against Northern United (41-40), Hutt Valley 1 (53-42) and Kapiti (62-24)
The current points table is, on the basis of two points for a win:.Wairarapa 8, Hutt Valley 2 6, Mana 6, Northern United 4, Hutt Valley 1 4, PCOG 2, KBJ 2, Kapiti 0.