Thingsare tightening up as we hit the home stretch of the Southern region competition.
Lawrence and Clutha have all but secured the top two spots with four rounds to play.
Third and sixth spot are separated by only three points.
There are some big clashes coming up in the following weeks, none more so than this weekend.
Crescent is hosting Heriot in Kaitangata.
Crescent is third on 29 points, three points ahead of sixth-placed Heriot.
Crescent under-performed against Clutha last week and needs to pick itself up to have a chance in this one.
Heriot has timed its run late.
The side was an underachiever in the first round by its standards and one more loss could be detrimental to its semifinal chances.
Crescent will be sweating on the fitness of captain and first five-eighth Harley McHardy, who has been a rock this season.
His combination with halfback Josh Cook and second five-eighth Jamie Brown has been key this year.
Heriot will bring its big strong forward pack.
Englishmen Will Cole and Chris Courtier have been solid up front for the West Otago outfit this year.
Halfback Jye Cormack has hit form and is leading the pack around nicely.
Crescent will not make as many uncharacteristic mistakes this week and will look to get the job done against a Heriot team that struggles to win in Kaitangata.
Clinton is hosting Clutha Valley.
These clashes are generally close and physical encounters.
Valley sits in fourth spot on points difference and will need to aim for maximum points.
Its main rival on points, Toko, has to travel to Lawrence so this weekend is a good opportunity for Valley to put a points cushion between it and the Milton side.
Clinton showed last week against Toko it can play extremely good rugby for long periods but just lacked imagination and the finishing left a bit to be desired.
Valley's forwards have been setting the platform most weeks and this needs to continue this week.
Loose forward Ben Marr and hooker Macrae Sanderson have been Valley's best in previous weeks.
Clinton will be relying on midfielders Mark McKenzie and Todd Wells to make metres and set up dominant attacks.
Valley needs this more so should take it out.
Unbeaten Lawrence hosts Toko.
The forward battle will be massive.
Lawrence has a dominant set piece but, as Owaka found out last week, if you disrupt this then it affects its play on the whole.
Lawrence will back its superior fitness in the forwards and will look to spin the ball wide as often as possible.
Centre Will Young has come into his own in the past few weeks and will look to find gaps in the Toko defence.
Toko is equal on points with Clutha Valley and a loss here will dent its semifinal aspirations.
Forwards Matt Lyon and Josh Beer make plenty of metres per game and will look to unleash the backline.
Jacky Scott has moved out to second five-eighth in an inspired move. He has more time and space out wider.
It is hard to back against Lawrence.
Second-placed Clutha hosts bottom-of-the-table Owaka.
Clutha was victorious over Crescent last week in what was a big team effort.
Owaka lost to Lawrence but belief will be high after it led Lawrence for most of the first half.
Clutha has more to play for but Owaka will turn up to play and make it hard for the big brother opposition.
Clutha's Tyler Bichan is back to his best.
He scored a great individual try last week and made some telling tackles on defence.
Owaka has re-signed Josh Huddleston from Dunedin premier rugby and he will be looking to show his class.
Clutha is a big favourite but Owaka will not give in.
- Francis Parker
