With another season but a few weeks away, harbourrugby.com previews the players for the coming season.

Props
Looks reasonably sound in this area. With Woodcock to come back from All Black duty to anchor the scrum, the other fellas will fight it out for the remaining spots. Noble, Coughlan and Donald return to add a familiar flavour to the front row. With Noble seemingly not capable of a full 80 mins, the other two after solid club seasons will be keen to stamp their mark. At this stage it looks like Donald will be the one to drop down to the Development XV.
7.0/10

Hookers
Again pretty well served with Ward and Dustow. Not much between them though I believe Dustow is slightly better. Should be ok with both.
7.0/10

Locks
The return of Martin Veale has boosted this position. I would pick him and Rawlinson to be the starters. Jackson will really have to prove to be outstanding if he wants a future at Harbour (on the field anyway). If Rawlinson disappears back to the rainbow nation then we maybe quite sort of talent in this area. Boric looks ok but could benefit from a pie and pint diet.
6.0/10

Flankers
Do we have a genuine number seven? I don't believe we do. Voullaire is not quick enough, Harding is not good enough and buggered if I know who else there is out in the club scene. Wilson should be ok at number six but we do have a slight deficiency in these positions. Newby departing down to the North Harbour Satellite Camp in Dunedin is a major blow.
4.5/10

Number 8
There is much hype surrounding Nick Williams but is he fit?. If he doesn't have ball in hand early he drifts out of the game and virtually disappears. Again, cover looks a little thin.
5.0/10

Halfback
Craig McGrath is a good player but far from brilliant. Virtually any player from Auckland could walk into this position at present. Junior Polo isn't mature enough to handle this position at NPC level. Bring back Allcock.
5.5/10

First Five
I would imagine Lucky Luke will command this position. Behind him in the rank are Pisi and Elrick. I still can't see any benefit in having Pisi anywhere near a team playing rugby. He is reasonably good in a Polynesian set-up but crap elsewhere. Pollock and co. love their whole family so what can you say. For me Elrick is a balanced player learning his craft, he also has that often maligned quality in a back, he can kick...
8.0/10

Second Five/Centre
I would say Rua and Mailei will be the ones to look for. I would probably play Tuitavake at centre with Rua at 12. Mailei is good but a little one dimensional. The midfield has quality if they all remain fit.
6.5/10

Wings
The biggest name in world rugby came and left without firing a shot. A little unlucky but if we though the answer to losing Gear and Gear was Lomu then this shows a bit of misguided judgement. Lawrence is developing well but we struggle to have a clutch of quality wingers. Pisi Jr. looks better than his brother but is still learning his trade. The loss of Wulf is a real tragedy. This area concerns me greatly.
4.0/10

Fullbacks
Whiteman needs to show some quality form for me to rate him as an NPC player. Not bad for Massey but really is far too inconsistent for Harbour.
3.5/10

Summary
Coaches will be under immense pressure to get into the semis. Failure to do so will and should result in their departure from Harbour. The loss of Evans, Gear, Gear Jr. and Newby have not been adequately replaced. The wing, loose forward and fullback positions offer a sense of insecurity and worry. All that said and done their is a real opportunity for our young talent to shine through on this domestic stage.