These teams have met twice this season for a win apiece, Wakatipu 29-19 in round six, and Arrowtown 25-18, in round 13 when the Arrowtown side showed real hunger to get up over its neighbour.
Wakatipu rightly should go into the game as favourite after finishing in top spot going into the semifinals and securing home advantage after accounting for Cromwell in extra time in a tight contest.
An extra incentive for the home side will be to cap off a fine season and to make it more memorable for captain Brad Cross and second five Tom Kelly, who are both playing their 50th and blazer games. Cross is a no-nonsense type who has led from the front all season, while Kelly has been a vital cog in an impressive backline. If the home side can get a fair share of possession, the backline has the ability to penetrate any defence. Logan Begs has been fine all season either at the pivot role or on the wing, while Kapa Moeke and Chris Young are quality players. It will be up to Cross and the vastly experienced Brett Anderson to take control of the forward battle to allow the exciting backline to flourish.
Arrowtown will not be there to make up the numbers and has a compelling case to go into the fixture as favourite. It is justifiably in this battle after beating the Maniototo side in the second semifinal last Sunday, a game with only a five-point margin.
Several players in the side have finals experience and they will be hard to beat.
The experienced forward quartet of Aidan Winter, Adam Hill, Malcolm Sutherland and John Morrison will ensure their side plenty of good ball and the inside back pairing of Josh Brazier and the excellent Connor Bissett will make sure that the outside backs such as Isireli Nayaloga and Tom Grandiek get plenty of opportunities to show their wares.
Given good conditions, this should be a cracking game to finish the season. Opinions of some Central Otago rugby brains slightly favour the Arrowtown side but write off the home side at your peril.
● The semifinals of the North Otago Citizens Shield competition, postponed from last weekend because of the flooding, will be played this weekend. The matches, Old Boys v Kurow and Valley v Excelsior, were previewed in last week’s Sport Liftout.
- Malcolm Jones