7 Dec 2012

After a first rotation of games, 1^st placed Icon Sports Tariki Pukekura Park welcome 4th placed Hareb Deken Oakura to their lair, while 3^rd placed AWE Huatoki travel to bottom of table Central Finance Rotokare for the local derby.  2^nd placed Sandfords Manaia travel to 5^th placed Farmlands Okaiawa.

Manaia are at full strength and should have no problems with Okaiawa.  Nicole Koch will hardly be tested by Jaimee Baylis, while Manaia topguns, Jordan Fleming and Cameron Koch should win their singles against Andrew Powell and Mark Laurence respectively. Okaiawa's  No.3 man, Vincent Baylis was dominant over experienced veteran Michael Gates in the first round, however Gates will want to make amends for that  loss.  The remainder of the Manaia team is unlikely to falter against an Okaiawa side that will show heart but may come up short. 

Pukekura's No.1 woman, Louise Waite, is unavailable, with Kirsten Adam likely to  play seasoned player Miaana Walden which will be an interesting matchup.  Walden will have some practice under her belt and could surprise over the in-form Adam.  Linda Reid at No.2  will have some problems against Sue Oldfield while Jeanette Harding and Chantel Peters will get a good workout from their Oakura opponents, Chris Davies and Rebecca Scott, respectively. The matches could be all close.  On the men's side, Oakura No. 1 Graeme Mitchell will want to show the same form as in his first round win over Callum Old to again take on the Pukekura No. 1.   Pukekura's Mike Fleming at No.2  should be too strong for veteran battler Len Adamson, while Oakura debutant Charlie Lewis will struggle as most people do against Chris Jury.  Oakura's No. 4  Cory Sutherland, needs to tame his game down and pick the right time to 'pull the trigger' to have a chance against the talented Boys High No. 1, Jamie Simpson.  The doubles and combines should  be dominated by the Pukekura men. 

Both Rotokare and Huatoki will be missing their top two women going into this match which should even things up considerably.  Rotokare's Frances Gray at No. 1 this week, showed good form last week and could be hard to beat against the experienced Chris Wilson, while debutant, Huatoki's Ellen O'Byrne, showing good form in junior reps, may just have the upper hand over Michelle Atkins at 2.  Huatoki's No. 3 Hikaru Han is improving all the time and will be a handful for the skilful Juliet Farquhar, while debutant No.4's, Huatoki's Julie Foley will play Hannah Trevis, with the experience of Foley likely to show through.  Huatoki Mens No. 1 Amrit Rai will be confident of a win over the tenacious Malcolm Elder while the No 2 match pits old teammates, Huatoki's Chris Popata against Greg Hareb –they know each others game inside out, and this could go either way.  Rotokare captain Shane Devlin will go toe to toe with Alastair Nairn, however a win will likely prove elusive again . Making his debut at number 4, after seeing off his older brother in a challenge, Rotokare's Cole Hareb will find it tough against the wily Murray Keast, who has the type of game that can frustrate an opponent into submission.  The doubles and combines could be evenly shared, with a close match overall in the offing.