That was the individual Arrowtown were seriously missing throughout their 2023 campaign.
Malcolm Sutherland, who had served the team magnificently for several seasons, was sidelined with a serious back injury.
Which led to the Arrowtown lineout imploding. With no Sutherland — indeed, with no notable lanky lock available at all — the team had to make do with loose forwards and props in the second row.
No wonder Arrowtown completed the 2023 season winning just three of their 12 games.
Fast forward to the current season, which finds new coach Jackson Wallace "over the moon" that not only is Sutherland back in action but he teams up with another towering individual, Charlie Neilson.
The lineout is no longer a major concern. With possession from throw-ins pretty much guaranteed, it will be over to backline individuals such as captain Ryan Egerton, Ben Sissons and Tom Grandiek to capitalise on it.
Wakatipu have won their two opening encounters, against Cromwell away and Maniototo at home, in contrast to last season when as the defending champions they lost to both Alexandra and Arrowtown.
The local derby, which should draw a large crowd to Jack Reid Park, will have entertainment provided by the two clubs’ over-35 golden oldies teams as a curtain-raiser (starting at 12.30pm).
Two teams which had players sin-binned at critical moments of their contests last weekend will be hoping for better fortune tomorrow.
Maniototo had a forward red-carded just prior to halftime against Wakatipu at Queenstown. They were two points in arrears when it happened but 16 points down before a replacement could take the field 20 minutes later.
In identical circumstances, Alexandra had their hooker sin-binned just before halftime against Upper Clutha at Molyneux Park. Upper Clutha went on to convert a two-point deficit into a 12-point lead by the time it was 15 against 15 again.
Maniototo have made an appeal against the red card, claiming the incident deserved nothing worse than a yellow card.
Maniototo coach Ken Willis had his fingers crossed the player would be available for tomorrow’s White Horse Trophy challenge against a high-flying Upper Clutha team that has scored 17 tries in just two outings (and resisted every challenge for the trophy in 2023).
Willis, in his first season as the Maggots’ coach, said mustering and harvesting commitments were still impacting on his selections.
"I can see why Maniototo traditionally struggles to win matches early in the season," he said.
"But we’ll get there."
Alexandra will be keen to put their campaign back on the rails, against Matakanui Combined at Molyneux Park, following the second-half massacring by Upper Clutha, and should do. It won this corresponding fixture last season 78-12.
- By Bob Howitt
