1. Reggie Goodes
2. Dane Coles
3. Neemia Tialata
4. Jeremy Thrush (c)
5. Mark Reddish
6. Faifili Levave
7. Scott Fuglistaller
8. Brad Shields
9. TJ Perenara
10. Lima Sopoaga
11. Hosea Gear
12. Charlie Ngatai
13. Alapati Leiua
14. Julian Savea
15. Apoua Stewart

Reserves
16. Motu Matu'u
17. Jacob Ellison
18. Joe Latta
19. Dean Brunsdon
20. Frae Wilson
21. Michael Lealava'a
22. Steve Honey
23. Arden David-Perrot

Talisman prop Neemia Tialata packs down for his final game for the Vodafone Wellington Lions tonight when they take on North Harbour in their final match of the 2011 ITM Cup season.

Tialata, veteran of 43 Tests for the All Blacks, over 100 Super Rugby games for the Hurricanes and 72 Lions matches going into this game, is off shortly to continue his rugby journey in Bayonne in France.

Tialata made his Lions debut against Otago in 2003 and was involved in Lions teams that reached the 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 NPC/ITM CUP finals.

The Vodafone Wellington Lions also welcome back Hosea Gear for this round 13 match. Gear re-joins the side, alongside hooker Dane Coles and midfielder Charles Ngatai who are both returning after missing Tuesday's game against Waikato through injury. In one milestone, Scott Fuglistaller starts his 50th match for the Lions against North Harbour.

The Lions will need to beat North Harbour in this final ITM Cup 2011 round-robin fixture to ensure their Premiership status for next season.

Victory at North Harbour Stadium will guarantee that the Lions will remain in the top division for 2012 ahead of the Southland Stags irrespective of the outcome of the Stags' last round match at home on Sunday against Bay of Plenty. A win without a bonus point would give the Lions a five-point buffer over the Stags and if the two teams finished on the same points the Lions would hold their premiership status by virtue of their 30-25 win over them two matches ago.

Conversely, while out of contention for the final, the Lions can still finish as high as fourth if they beat North Harbour and Bay of Plenty and Auckland both lose their last round matches. Auckland plays Waikato away in Hamilton on Saturday.

North Harbour themselves have a fight on with Tasman to avoid the Championship division wooden spoon, a fate they will could meet if they lose to the Lions, after the Tasman Makos lost to Manawatu in the first match of the last round last night.

In North Harbour, the Lions face an exciting attacking team stacked full of explosive players that can open up any opposition, and who have scored some terrific tries this year. Former Lions No. 8 Mat Luamanu has led their charge in this department. They will also have Rugby World Cup All Black Anthony Boric starting at lock. Lions fans will be hoping Harbour's leaky defence continues into this match. Going into it they have conceded 290 points in nine games. The next most expensive out of all 14 teams has been Tasman with 253 points (before their match againstManawatu). The Lions have conceded 232 points.

In last year's corresponding clash, the Lions scored 32 unanswered points and won 52-23 at Albany, Alapati Leiua scoring two of seven tries. This was Wellington's highest ever win over North Harbour, surpassing the 39-6 win over them in 1993. North Harbour's highest score against the Lions is 43-17 in 1994.

The year before the Lions won 37-13 at Westpac Stadium, winning that game with a well-taken three-try burst early in the second half. This victory evened up the head-to-head ledger in ITM Cup / NPC results between Wellington and North Harbour, which now stands at 12 wins to Wellington and 11 to North Harbour in 23 ITM CUP/NPC games contested between 1988 and 2010.

First Division newcomers North Harbour had been formed as a breakaway union from Auckland at the end of 1985 and had previously won the Division Three and Two titles in 1986 and 1987 to make the top flight in 1988. The two teams have also met once in a non-NPC game in 1986, Wellington winning 22-19.

North Harbour won their inaugural ITM Cup/NPC clash at Onewa Domain in Takapuna 20-15 in 1988, and also won five of the next six games between 1989-1994, but in the 16 matches between 1995 and 2010 the Lions have levelled things up by winning 11 times to North Harbour's five.

This will be Wellington's seventh fixture at North Harbour Stadium since the home team's move there from Onewa Domain in 1998, and they have won five of these encounters to North Harbour's two. Those wins were 28-19 in 1998, 19-17 in 2002, 18-16 in 2004, 30-27 in 2008 and 53-23 last year.

Wellington has won five of their most recent seven meetings overall, these results being: 18-6 in 2004, 16-29 in 2005, 16-31 in 2006, 39-14 in 2007, 30-27 in 2008, 37-13 in 2009 and 53-23 last year.

Wellington has scored 60 tries in all ITM Cup/NPC matches against North Harbour.
The record for most individual tries in an ITM Cup/NPC match against North Harbour is two, by Tana Umaga at Albany in 1998, Lome Fa'atau at Wellington in 2001 and Alapati Leiua at Albany last year. Tana Umaga holds the Wellington record for most tries in all ITM Cup/NPC matches against North Harbour with five.

Jon Preston holds the Wellington record for most points in all ITM Cup/NPC matches against North Harbour with 79, and also holds the Wellington record for most points against North Harbour in an ITM Cup/NPC match with 20 points at Wellington in 1997.

The Wellington record for most penalties kicked in an ITM Cup/NPC match against North Harbour is four, also by Jon Preston, at Takapuna in 1994.