Athletic Marist captain Savenaca Rabaka avoids the tackle of Excelsior captain Mat Duff during a Citizens Shield game. PHOTO: YAMMIE MCKENZIE PHOTOGRAPHY Everything is on the line as teams push for their last chance to make the Citizens Shield playoffs tomorrow. North Otago club rugby adopted a crossover game system for the final two weeks of the competition this year, based off the standings at the end of round two a fortnight ago. That resulted in Valley edging Maheno 40-36, Excelsior and Athletic Marist settling for a 19-19 draw — Athies’ second draw of the season — and Old Boys pumping Kurow 73-7. Tomorrow it is 1 v 6, 2 v 5 and 3 v 4 based off those previous standings. Valley will make the trip up the Waitaki Valley to meet Kurow, Excelsior are home to Old Boys at Centennial Park, and Maheno host Athies. The latter two games are the ones to watch with a logjam in the middle of the table. Valley (51) remain unbeaten at the top followed by Excelsior (32) in second and Athies (32) third. Old Boys (27), who had to default a week before their demolition of Kurow, have jumped into fourth. Maheno (26) are fifth and Kurow (14) sixth. The Red Devils are the only ones out of the playoff hunt. Teams get four points for a win and two for a draw, so Blues, Athies, Old Boys and Maheno will all be desperate for maximum points. Maheno had a strong start to the season and will be keen to make a return to the playoffs for the first time in several years. Defending champion Blues will want to lock away second spot and are in for a big battle against Old Boys, and Athies will want to put on a big performance against Maheno, having beaten the green machine 66-21 in week eight. Valley, who have continued to plough away despite being ravaged with injuries, will just want to make sure they get through unscathed for the playoffs, and Kurow will want to finish the season on a high at home.
