United Matamata Sports, the 2023 champions, will be looking to remain unbeaten at home in the second round of 2024.
Breweries Shield Premiership Final
The two best sides from 2024 will square off in one last dance, hoping to lift the Breweries Shield Trophy by 4.30pm on Saturday and take home the title of 2024 champions.
Hamilton Marist are the only side to go through the season unbeaten and are coming off the back of a big home win last weekend over Hamilton Old Boys.
Meanwhile, Hautapu made the trip last weekend to take on University and upset the students in what was their first Premiership semifinal in a long time.
Both teams boast plenty of experience and it will be a quality match-up.
A couple of changes have been made to both sides that were victorious in their respective semifinals, but no doubt the experience gained throughout the season means these changes will have little impact come 2.45pm.
For the Cambridge men, regular halfback Quintony Ngatai moves out to the No 10 jersey in his 50th cap for his side, which sees Rui Farrant move into the starting lineup in the No 9 jersey.
While this is a considerable change in key positions, it is not the first time this year Hautapu have run this 9-10 combo and they will be confident that it will pay off.
For Hautapu the battle will be upfront, where the experience of David Morris and Nick Jeffcoat will be key for the travelling side, up against some powerful and experienced men in the green and white.
The home side have Mason Tupaea making a timely return after his short stint with the Māori All Blacks, while Thames Valley tighthead prop Mosese Mafi also slots back into the starting lineup.
The experience of Wharenui Hāwera, who has recently returned from an injury that saw him sit out a big chunk of the second round, will be instrumental for the home side. They will look to control field position and put Hautapu under pressure.
Marist have big backs in Ngāti Porou East Coast’s Leigh Bristowe, Thames Valley’s Leroy Van Dam and Shauncy Waho. They will no doubt pose challenges to the Hautapu defensive line.
If you can’t get to Marist Park to catch the action, the Waikato Rugby Facebook page will have this match livestreamed, with live commentary from Joel Skulander, Bevin Jenkinson and Andrew Vercoe.
Lone Star Championship
The 2023 champions, United Matamata Sports, are back home against Fraser Tech and will look to become back-to-back winners of the Lone Star Championship, joining Marist Colts and Morrinsville Sports Under-85kg as 2023-2024 champions.
After a tough start to the season where they only won one match from their opening nine, the home side have gone four wins from five starts in the second round to book themselves the top spot.
The last meeting between these teams only came a fortnight ago, when United Matamata Sports’ Logan Allen kicked an 80th-minute penalty goal to get his side up 25-24 at Mill Street Park, locking his side into the top spot.
Like the Matamata men, Fraser Tech battled their way through the first round, winning four from nine matches and just missing out on the Premiership division.
A much-improved second round performance saw them win two and lose two, however, those two losses were by four points or less.
The Hamilton side will be excited by their trip to Bedford Park in the hope of bringing home the club’s first piece of silverware for 2024.
Get across to Bedford Park on Saturday afternoon for the 2.45pm kick-off.
Division One Mooloo Shield
It’s the final week of the regular season for all Division One sides, and for a good number of them it will be their last for 2024.
Next weekend sees a straight final between the two highest-seeded sides.
Flagstaff Park-based Suburbs currently sit atop the Mooloo Shield ladder and will be favourites to stay there after the weekend.
They host Leamington, which will be the end of the road for the Cambridge side.
Suburbs were impressive at home last weekend, beating Southern United 31-26 to get to the top of the ladder, while Leamington have struggled in the second round, but did win their first game last weekend vs Ōhaupō.
The big match-up is the south Waikato neighbours going head-to-head in Tokoroa.
Second-placed Southern United host third-placed Putāruru in what is shaping up to be a semifinal-like match.
If Suburbs can win vs Leamington, the winner of the Southern United vs Putāruru match will climb to second place on the table and will head to Hamilton next weekend to square off against Suburbs for the Mooloo Shield.
If Suburbs lose to Leamington, the winner of the southern clash will likely go to the top of the ladder and host next weekend’s Mooloo Shield final.
The final match-up has Ōhaupō at home hosting Hinuera.
Ōhaupō currently sit in sixth and are out of the running for the final, while Hinuera are relying on a couple of results to go their way, including a big win for themselves.
Hinuera sit in fourth and if they can achieve a bonus-point win and Suburbs are well beaten by Leamington, they could find themselves joining the winner from the Tokoroa game in next weekend’s final.
There is plenty of intrigue in this finals weekend to see how that finale pans out.
Division One Championship
In contrast to the Mooloo Shield, the top two in the Championship competition are locked in.
Te Rapa sit at the top of the table and will finish there on Saturday night as second-placed Taupiri have a bye weekend.
Te Rapa are three from three and host the winless Frankton at St Andrews Park.
Meanwhile, third-placed Pirongia will host fourth-placed Kereone – both sides have struggled in the second round and each recorded wins over Frankton and losses to Te Rapa and Taupiri.
The pair will play off for the Clarke Family Cup.
Taupiri have a timely weekend off and will enjoy the rest to be well prepared for next weekend’s final.
