After not taking the field in the Meads Cup semifinal loss, Dane Whale, will come back to play for the Whanganui Maori against Manawatu Maori on Saturday.
After not taking the field in the Meads Cup semifinal loss, Dane Whale, will come back to play for the Whanganui Maori against Manawatu Maori on Saturday.
Steelform Wanganui's Meads Cup semifinal loss could be the Whanganui Maori team's gain as they will now play the last home fixture of the season at Spriggens Park on Saturday against Manawatu Maori.
The two sides were originally scheduled to face each other in Palmerston North on October 6, however Whanganui Maori defaulted the match after injuries and call-ups to the Wanganui senior team left them short of a full squad.
Coach Dennis Tucker said the Manawatu Maori had not only been accommodating by rescheduling the game to this weekend, but also moving it from a home match to Spriggens.
"They were happy to come and see us.
"Manawatu [union] have totally jumped on board with the Maori team now.
"It puts their Maori team out there for bigger and better things. They will be the favourites."
Tucker had organised a 'come one, come all' training for tonight, and now that Wanganui have missed out on a home Meads Cup final, he put out the feelers to the nine or so members of last Saturday's semifinal squad who can trace their whakapapa (ancestry) back three generations or less to a Maori ancestor.
"A lot of them are down from the loss. They've got this last game of the season to win it, make it enjoyable."
Prop Gabriel Hakaraia will return to the team to join brother Te Uhi, who will form the front row group with Shade Tuaine-Whanau, given Wiremu Cottrell is unavailable.
While utility forward Jackson Campbell is also away and Cade Robinson made a winning Northern Hemisphere debut with the Scarborough club last Saturday, Tucker was hopeful flanker Jamie Hughes will suit up, given the little flanker was arguably Wanganui's best player in the semifinal loss to Thames Valley.
Regular Maori locks Josh Lane and Jack Hodges, who made his Heartland debut against East Coast on October 6, are back again.
Both Heartland midfield backs and play-makers Dane Whale and Ethan Robinson are ready after they did not even leave the bench last weekend, which Tucker found perplexing.
"Those two could have made a difference, but that's my personal opinion.
"[Dane's] chomping at the bit, I know he's keen. Totally rate him as a player and team man.
"Ethan as well, I think he's a great player as well - he dies for you on the pitch."
Ethan Robinson
Tucker was also looking to confirm regular Maori outside backs Troy Brown and Jaye Flaws, although the latter still had some niggle in the ankle injury he suffered against Taranaki Maori on September 29.
After missing the earlier games while away from the region, Heartland Hurricanes Under 20 winger Shaquille Waara is back, while talented fullback Sheldon Pakinga-Manhire will play what could be his last local game, given a move to New Plymouth is on the table.
"I'm going to be doing my very best to get him to stay," said Tucker.
"They get offered these big things and people say big stuff.
"We'll definitely have a good backline."
Manawatu Maori could be in the same boat given the Turbos season in the Mitre 10 Cup Championship ended a fortnight ago, with Tucker expecting at least a few "verge players" from that squad to play this match.
"They'll be definitely very strong, big forward pack and fast backs."
It is a possibility that former Wanganui players Te Rangatira Waitokia and Cody Hemi could play for them, raising the prospect of a Whale vs Hemi rematch from Wanganui's win over the Manawatu Evergreens in the "Game of Three Halves" back in July.
Whanganui Maori lost narrowly to Taranaki Maori 29-24 at Cooks Gardens in September, but rebounded with a last second win over Wanganui Samoa, 23-22 on October 13.
