WILDCARD

TAURANGA BOYS’ COLLEGE

Five of their seven games last year were decided by a try or less and the common thread throughout the Super 8 is that Tauranga Boys’ should be on the right side of most of those games this season.

Roughly 14 of 28 return for another crack and coaches Dan Goodwin and Richard Apanui have some standout talent to call upon including the likes of halfback Leroy Carter, a converted openside who leaves his pack in no doubt where to go next.

Workhorse Gordie Lloyd at No 8 is the grafter in a smallish team that Apanui says needs to “go around rather than go through” bigger teams and that having a couple of different options on the park is a necessity.

In the midfield, all-round sportsman Shi Jie Yong is an eye-catcher with his strength over the ball and impressive footwork and he’ll be an important cog in the Titans’ gameplan. The school hasn’t lifted the Super 8 since the turn of the century but they have a great chance to surprise in 2017.