Wyndham out to defend division one crown
Wyndham were the minor premiership winners in the division one club rugby competition and will host the final on Saturday against their near neighbours Edendale.
Wyndham also finished top-ofthe-table last year, but because of the muddy playing surface in Wyndham they scheduled the final to be played at Les George Oval. Wyndham went on to beat Riversdale in that game.
This year the Wyndham ground is in much better condition and the venue for the local derby will be good for both teams and supporters.
The format of the division one competition this year was hard to follow but there is no doubt that the best two teams have won through to the final.
In last week’s game Wyndham did enough to beat their Winton visitors 15-7.
Midlands had the majority of the possession, but the Wyndham defence was too well organised.
‘‘It was a good battle and it was good to give all 22 of our boys a run,’’ Wyndham manager Mike Henderson said.
Wyndham No 8 Leighton Coker was the team’s best player last week, but he has been ruled out of the final with concussion.
The lock pairing of Matt McRae and Dean Rabbidge were the other leading performers and have done well in recent weeks filling in for regular starters Logan Howe and Logan McDonald who had suffered season-ending injuries.
‘‘Those injuries have left us a bit thin,’’ Henderson said.
‘‘We didn’t have a large squad to begin with, but the boys trained well last night and we will still field 22 players on Saturday that we know can do the job.’’
Although Wyndham’s 2017 record is imposing with 14 wins and only the one loss – there have been some narrow wins and of course their sole loss was to Edendale 22-5 just three weeks ago.
‘‘We had some new player combinations to settle in that day and we may have felt the pressure. They were clinical though and if they repeat that performance we will be up against it for sure,’’ Henderson said.
Wyndham do possess strike power in their backline, but it has been their ability to grind out a win with their defence and discipline that has impressed this season.
Edendale’s all-round team attack and defence has been impressive this season, halfback Marcus Saunders has played a key role in the team playing at speed.
The coaches of the third and fourth ranked teams know the finalists well but they, too, are struggling to pick a winner.
Midlands coach Dayna Cunningham is predicting a close game.
‘‘While I think Edendale have more of an attacking mindset, the soft ground could hinder flow in the backs and slow down their forwards. Either team will be worthy winners as they have been by far the best teams this year. I’m picking Wyndham by three points,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s too close to call,’’ according to Riversdale Lindsay.
‘‘Both teams play a similar style and I reckon the team that defends the best will come out on top, so Wyndham by a whisker.’’ coach Garth
The top two teams of the bottom four Waiau Star and Te Anau are scheduled to play each other this week in Tuatapere for the fourth time this year to decide who finishes fifth.