Red Alert For Jubilee Cup

An enthralling Swindale Shield finished on Saturday, which saw Marist St. Pat's rise above the rest in a close race to take their tenth first round title and their first since 2000.

MSP are back to their best as one of the leading clubs after a lean last couple of seasons by their own established high standards, Senior 1 (finishing second) and Senior 2 sides (winners) also dominant in their grades in the first round. Their Premiers finished only mid-table in each of the 2004, 2005 and 2006 Jubilee Cups as other clubs such as new powerhouse Northern United hugged the limelight.

But under the coaching of Brendon Reidy they bounced back to make the final at Westpac Stadium last year for the first time since 2003 and now under new coach Murray Tocker they appear capable to go all the way again this year and collect what would be a 12th Jubilee Cup exactly 30 years after their first in 1978.

There've been plenty of points and a healthy and entertaining number of tries scored in the Swindale Shield round, but it was MSP's resolute defensive record over the first eleven weeks of the season that stands out. They enter the Jubilee Cup having conceded only 99 points in all, including a parsimonious 13 tries, and they kept the opposition scoreless in four games.

MSP's tenth Swindale Shield wins in 40 years also compares favourably with Petone's 13 first round title wins - a record for Petone including them winning or sharing it for the first eight years it was contested between 1969 and 1976.

Petone and Norths, who finished the first round in second and third, loom as the likely contenders for this year's Jubilee Cup along with Marist St. Pat's, each having won eight, lost two and drawn with each other 15-15 back in round three. Petone enter the Swindale Shield having come off a tough win over defending champions Hutt Old Boys Marist, their fourth win on the trot, while Norths had the best attacking record by far in the Swindale Shield, scoring 436 points. Obviously this was boosted by two 90-point victories over the Wests Roosters and Avalon, but nevertheless reflects their default setting which is to attack and score tries.

Old Boys-University would have considered themselves unlucky not to have finished the first round higher than fourth after leading after eight rounds, while HOBM have the undoubted passion to defend their title and will be a huge threat to the more fancied teams. The other contenders - Poneke, Upper Hutt and Oriental-Rongotai - will compete well, particularly the latter Ories, whose revival in 2008 has been a welcome one.

Look out for all teams to hit the ground running in the first week, with early momentum one of the keys to securing semi-final positions in eight weeks' time. In this week's matches, MSP venture through the cutting to play Ories at the Polo Ground, Petone hosts Upper Hutt at the Petone Recreation Ground, Northern United play HOBM at Porirua Park and OBU and Poneke square off at Kilbirnie Park.

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