Roll up, roll up to the finals fling

Kaikorai midfielder Filipo Whitehouse-Opetaia Tovio gets around Harbour outside back Viliami Fine...
Kaikorai midfielder Filipo Whitehouse-Opetaia Tovio gets around Harbour outside back Viliami Fine during a Dunedin premier club game at Watson Park last month. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON

Finals weekend

Club finals are tomorrow and we’ve certainly had a lot of free publicity from the ODT and Strath Taieri. As they say, no publicity is bad publicity, unless you’re in the National Party.

I don’t want to dwell on it, but the decision to host finals day was made at the start of the season by the Council of Rugby Clubs (CRC) and communicated to all clubs months ago.

At that stage, the NPC draw wasn’t done, so we were hoping to be at the stadium, but NZR scuppered that when they did their draw. The premier final had to be brought forward to accommodate Otago pre-season, so the senior final was added to finals day.

Having the premier final played a month before the other finals palpably doesn’t work and I’ll be urging the CRC to have all finals next year finishing at the same time.

If we can’t have Otago players available (and there are so few anyway!), so be it.

I understand "Strath" are upset and I can see why, but if you’re running club rugby in this town, you have to leave your club badge at the door. Club finals day (combined) does engender excitement and publicity and helps us attract new players, and without them we have no competitions.

It isn’t helped by Otago deciding this is to be "club day" at the stadium when every team from under-5s to premier 2 are playing finals.

And to all those social media trolls out there, join a club and make a difference. To those disaffected "club people" having a crack, this was a unanimous decision on the part of the town clubs.

Finals day starts at 12.45pm tomorrow, so make sure you get along to support your teams. We are expecting big crowds.

The two main games will be played on Varsity Oval at 12.45pm and 2.45pm. The premier 2 final is early between Kaik and GI, and the late game is the premier colts final between the Dunedin Mako and Kaikorai.

The junior colts final is on early (12.45pm) between Kaik and Dunedin, and the senior final between Strath Taieri and Kaik at Logan 6 (2.45pm), which is behind the old art gallery.

If that is not enough, there are two other finals on Logan 4 at 12.45pm and 2.45pm in seniors and junior colts for the bottom halves of those competitions.

Get yourselves there — it will be an experience, you can walk freely between the games and there is no charge.

Ainge Shield

So who wins the Ainge Shield? A reminder it is for the best-performing club. It is measured against your four top teams.

Outside premier banners, this is the most sought-after title across the clubs. Kaikorai is the current holder after a stellar year last year. It is in four finals tomorrow, so you can take it to the bank it will hold on to it for another year. Its premier 2s are unbeaten and will be far too strong for a plucky GI outfit.

It is up against the Dunedin Mako in the big one, the premier colts final. Kaik hasn’t had a good run in this final lately. But all the pressure is on the Mako, which is unbeaten for the year, and you know my theory on unbeaten teams — who said "Greg Norman"? It is the top qualifier in junior colts and should be far too experienced for a young Dunedin Bulls side. It is also in the senior final against Strath and has all the form going into that game — I have it as favourite.

For Dunedin to take the "Ainge" off it will require all the Israelites’ 10 miracles. Take the easy money on Kaik.