First-year coach Cory Brown sure does have his troops playing some fine attacking rugby this season.
Otago has racked up 47 tries through its first 10 games, four more than the next best -Wellington (43) - and a whopping 28 more than Northland, which has scored the fewest (19).
Flanker Naulia Dawai has crossed for seven of those tries - the third most in the competition behind Auckland winger George Moala (nine) and Canterbury midfielder Rob Thompson (eight) - and midfielder Matt Faddes has scored six.
Pivot Peter Breen has managed to score 82 of the team's 360 points. Otago's tally is the most by any of the 14 teams. Auckland has scored the next most (339).
In a competition in which defending appears to be more of an afterthought for most teams, the blue and golds have picked up a bonus point for scoring four or more tries in seven of their 10 matches.
As suspect as some of the defending has been, Otago has played a style of rugby that is enjoyable to watch and suits the team Brown has assembled.
The team not does not possess a monster pack suited to grinding out wins, so it is playing an up-tempo style with plenty of width and flare.
Faddes has been a key contributor in the backs, notching up the second-most clean line breaks in the competition - 15.
He is also sixth in metres gained - 663 - among all players.
All this is a huge contrast to last year's dismal season, in which Otago scored a paltry 23 tries from its 10 games and finished sixth (13th overall) among championship teams.
But as impressive as this year's attacking numbers are, they have nothing on what the 1998 NPC winning team accomplished.
That side, which featured the likes of Brendan ''Chainsaw'' Laney, Tony Brown, Jeff Wilson, Taine Randell, John Leslie, Anton Oliver, Carl Hayman and Josh Kronfeld, scored 76 tries in 13 games.
The 1998 side lost only twice during the regular season, before going on to beat Waikato 49-20 in the final at Carisbrook.
Laney was outstanding, scoring 16 tries that year, an Otago record he shares with John Timu (1988 and 1990) and Paul Cooke (1995).
Brown also had a fine season, scoring four tries, banging over 47 conversions, 32 penalties and a drop goal in a 213-point haul.
A staggering 53 of the 76 tries came in the last six matches of the season, which included 33 tries in a three-match stretch against Northland, Wellington and Southland.
Otago scored an NPC record 596 points that season, which even dwarfs the effort of the 2001 Otago team.
That side crossed for 58 tries in its 14 games to finish the season with 450 points. Laney scored 11 tries and finished the season with 147 points, but could not help his team beat Canterbury in the NPC final.
All these attacking numbers sound good, but they say defence wins championships, and that is not exactly something Otago has excelled at this season.
For the 47 tries it has scored, its own line has been breached 40 times - three more than a year ago.
Only Northland (420), Manawatu (364) and Southland (325) have conceded more points than the 314 Otago has leaked.
In contrast, Taranaki has conceded the fewest points (175) this season.
Bad tackling is a big reason why Otago has had to regroup under the posts 40 times. The side's successful tackle percentage is the fifth worst in the competition (82.1%).
Minus the one try Otago conceded against Southland and the three against Bay of Plenty last weekend, the blue and golds have conceded at least four tries in all of its games.
For the record, the 1998 team had a much healthier defensive record. It only conceded 25 tries in 13 games (264 points) in a time when the standard of competition was higher.
But this year's mob has still exceeded expectations, and a win against Wellington in Saturday's championship semifinal would be a sixth straight.
The last time Otago strung together six or more wins was in 2006, when it rattled off seven straight to start the season.
The 2003 team won six straight to start the year, while the 1998 team won its last six on its way to the NPC title.
If Otago goes on to win the championship this year, it will match the seven-game streak the 2006 team managed.
One thing is for sure. Expect plenty of points.
