As the Air New Zealand Cup heads into the final three weeks it's a good time to look ahead at the playoff picture and what teams have a true chance of taking home the Cup in November.

The leading contenders for the finals at this particular time have to be Canterbury and Hawke's Bay, they should both win two of the next three games. The top of the table clash between the Cantabs and the Magpies in Napier on October 15 could well decide their final placings.

The two remaining positions will be a real dog fight. There are seven teams within four points of each other right now which means every game is crucial.

Looking ahead to this week's games Wellington should win their match against Northland while Tasman v Southland will be the game of the weekend. The loser of that match will drop down below Bay of Plenty, Auckland and Waikato if those three all win.

But as we know it doesn't work like that, especially the way the Cup has gone this year. The Steamers should beat Manawatu, Waikato will have a battle on their hands down in Otago and I'm not sure about Auckland who won't have it easy against Taranaki.

There is of course the return of All Blacks that will lift some of the contenders.

With the All Blacks coming back into the frame, this will add more steel to the competition and their teams, at the same time the teams that don't have AB's will be disadvantaged.

It should be fairly easy for the AB's to integrate back into their respective teams. They should have all been back in two weeks ago, but this is the day of so called professionalism.

The other storyline to keep an eye on in the coming weeks is the Log o' Wood which has already shifted once this season.

Though I'm pretty confident the Ranfurly Shield will stay in the Canterbury trophy cabinet because I just can't see Manawatu or Southland prising it lose from the Red and Blacks.

The final three weeks of the competition also give players on the outer of All Blacks selection a chance to impress ahead of the end of year tour.

I would love to see the All Black selectors leave some of the old boys behind and let them rest for the up and coming Super 15.

This end-of-year-tour is the ideal opportunity to give some of our young stars a chance to show if they've got what it takes to make the step up. Players like Aaron Cruden, Israel Dagg, Robbie Robinson, Tanerau Latimer and even Liam Messam who deserves another chance.

Taking all the old boys to Tokyo and the UK will mean little or no decent rests for our key players. If we continue to flog them I cannot see us doing well in the 2011 Rugby World Cup with a a team of tired and jaded old campaigners.

I am currently in England with the Royal NZ Navy Rugby Team. The team is playing in a Commonwealth Cup between four navies. The teams that are playing are South Africa, Australia, Great Britain and of course New Zealand.

Last night the Kiwi's stole a march on the others by beating the Aussies 45-12. It was a great game of rugby with the Kiwi's scoring seven tries to two.