The home of the Citizens Shield for 2015 may well be decided tomorrow when the two unbeaten teams play each other.
Leader Old Boys meets second-placed Athletic Marist, which has a game in hand - a delayed match against Maheno to be played on May 1.
Old Boys will be seeking to make it 17 games without a loss, a run that includes a draw with Athletic last season.
Old Boys' most recent defeat in Citizens Shield rugby was nearly exactly a year ago, when it was beaten 28-22 by Athletic.
Sides which have attempted to play Old Boys at its free-flowing game have inevitably finished second, but Old Boys has proved to be susceptible when it is denied a consistent supply of ball, especially when the opposing sides utilise the pick and go or mauling tactics.
Frustration from Old Boys has led to penalties, but to employ these tactics, the opposing side must have the individual skills, discipline and tactical nous.
Athletic Marist had its first clearcut win last Saturday, defeating a depleted Kurow side 31-13. In its two earlier games, it downed both Excelsior and Valley by a solitary point.
At Weston Park, third-placed Kurow will meet Valley. Kurow, with a full-strength team, held Old Boys to a 10-point margin in the second round and has beaten Excelsior 27-8 and Maheno 15-10.
Kurow must be in with a real show to beat Valley, which gained its first win with a 26-19 victory over Maheno last Saturday.
The two teams have strong links going back to the 1940s when the two clubs combined during World War 2.
Excelsior produced a solid effort in its first half against Old Boys last week before its durability and fitness faded in the second half.
It has the makings of a very competitive pack, which competed well in the set pieces, and its backs, with Cameron Keenan and Kayne Middleton at the helm, used the ball intelligently.
Maheno showed real grit against Old Boys a fortnight ago, making a multitude of tackles, and might have been a little unfortunate not to draw last Saturday against Valley.
- Terry O'Neill
