Gladstone close to hitting top gear

Sounding a warning to his opponents, Gladstone head coach Steve Thompson reckons his side is yet to play their best rugby.

Whether or not Martinborough allow them to do so on Saturday remains to be seen, but what is clear, tipping over Gladstone will require a Herculean effort.

They have had the wood on Martinborough this season, winning both matches, and start the Grand Final as favourites.

Unlike Martinborough, Gladstone has won three Tui Cup titles this side of the Year-2000 – 2001, 2007 and 2011. Thompson was head coach in 2007 and 2011.

With depth and experience across the park, Gladdy is a formidable rugby team. They were top qualifiers for the semi-final, easily dispatching Carterton last weekend.

But, Thompson knows that history will count for little tomorrow (Saturday).

Winning 20-16 and 22-20 in the round robin encounters, Thompson says both matches could have gone either way. It came down to which side best took their opportunities.

“We were under the pump for about 65-minutes in the second game, and it was only really in the last ten minutes or so that we got back in the match,” Thompson recalls.

Gladstone weathered a lot of pressure in the opening quarter against Carterton last weekend, and then managed to run away with the match. Key, was that Gladstone didn’t panic, backing their systems and ability to get them out of tight situations.

Although happy, Thompson says his players will need to do better against Martinborough.

“It’s the small things. We did it last week stealing the ball at the right time and that sort of stuff, but gave it away a few times at line-outs on our throws. You can’t afford to do that in finals.”

Unlike his opposite, Thompson has the luxury of being able to pick a fully-fit first choice fifteen. It will include Inia Katia at half-back. A niggling injury has seen the elusive Fijian starting out on the wing in recent matches, however when his under-study exited the game early against Carterton, Katia was shifted back to behind the scrum, with immediate impact.

Gladstone has a nice balance about it with a mix of experience and youth, and notably only one or two rookies. Outside Katia, Brad Griffith is one such player, however looks to be going about his game with a level of calmness and maturity. A feature of Gladstone in recent weeks – and again in the semi-final – was the introduction of the hugely experienced Russell Thompson at second-five eighth to help close out a game.

While he might not cut the figure that he once did, centre Cameron Hayton is still a class player and is expected to have a big influence.

Over-looked for Wairarapa-Bush, lock Andrew Smith has been in good form, and his pairing with Andrew McLean will be key to Gladstone getting plenty of front-foot ball. The loose forward battle is going to be interesting with both sides boasting handy trios.

Gladstone No.8 Eddie Cranston has been one of the competition’s best players this season, and blindside Ryan Knell one of their unsung heroes.