The poor cousins of the NPC team, the North Harbour 2nd XV have outperformed their relatives in the last few seasons.

Brilliantly coached by Milan Yelavich (a top bloke and firm favourite of the harbourrugby.com team) and Shane King, this tight unit which dominated this competition last season (losing only one game to Waikato), look set to do it all again this year. The side to date is unbeaten and we at harbourrugby.com believe they should get more recognition for their sterling efforts.

They not only put pressure on players that "star" above them, they also put considerable pressure on the coaches and management of our NPC team. It is also noted that they have a good base of talent and experience.

Mr Yelavich is obviously a coach of some ability plying his trade both here and overseas. His commitment to North Harbour is unquestioned and he must be again wondering if there is a future for him at Albany. North Harbour has a very chequered history when it comes to promoting coaching talent from within but we can ill afford to let somone with this obvious talent leave the union.

Notable loses include Paul Feeney and Wayne Pivac who have shrugged off disappointment to become some of the best NZ has produced.

It is a truism that if there wasn't the heat on our top team then our recent performances could be the worse for it. They deserve greater credit and acknowledgement in the role they play.