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Beachlands Maraetai travel to Massey Park to take on neighbours Papakura Thirsty Liquor in a battle between the two remaining winless sides in the U85kg grade which features as the Counties Power Game of the Week.

The young Beachlands Maraetai side has good numbers but lack experience and are building towards the future.

“We have a young team with our youngest player only 16 and most players under 24,” club president Phil Holloway said.

“We see ourselves progressing to a really competitive U85kg side in the next 2-3 years.”

While there isn’t any significant rivalry between the two sides Holloway thinks they will pretty evenly matched and always enjoys the contests between the two sides.

“We like playing on their field and we think we match-up well against them.

“We think it is a good chance to get a win. We got a pasting last week against a really good Patumahoe side but we are looking forward to this game.”

The Beachlands Maraetai club is well run and they have a thriving junior club operating with numerous teams.

There has been a population explosion in the area with further development expected and that could only mean more people wanting to play rugby locally in the future.

But the senior club has struggled to grow beyond their U85kg side and Holloway thinks it will be some time before they are able to extend that.

“We do have a golden oldies team that plays the odd tournament or one-off fixtures,” Holloway explained.

“We would like to have a team in the Championship grade but the problem is a saying we have out here. “Fishing first, family second and rugby last. If it is primo weather the guys want to be out fishing and can’t commit to rugby.

“A lot of our players are doing apprenticeships as well so they are only able to finish work at 2pm to play rugby or play every other week.

“I think it will be a couple of years before we are ready to look at adding another team.”

Elsewhere in the U85kg grade Onewhero and Karaka go head-to-head in a battle of two unbeaten sides at Onewhero. Top-of-the-table Patumahoe Pak N Save Pukekohe hosts Bombay while Waiuku travels to Pukekohe.