Two weeks out from the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs and interest should, in theory at least, ratchet up several notches from here.
Instead we find ourselves lamenting the revolving door frustrations as frequent, undermining rest and rotation and imminent coaching exits, the latest involving struggling start up franchise Moana Pasifika, continue to dominate headlines.
The deeper the season goes, the better Super Rugby Pacific should get. Yet there's a sense fans will be forced to wait until the semifinals before jeopardy truly takes hold.
For a competition attempting to sell itself as one of the world's best, that's far too long.
In a bloated eight team playoff format that rewards mediocrity anyone who makes a case for projected Chiefs-Force or Crusaders-Reds quarterfinals being remotely unpredictable deserves an Oscar for best performance.
This season there are three, four at a pinch, teams capable of winning this year's title.
Such a landscape forms one of the many, pressing challenges facing Super Rugby's fraught future.
The other flashpoint searing airwaves centres on constantly removing star attractions.
Super Rugby Pacific hasn't helped itself this year. Sure, the World Cup is the greater goal for New Zealand and Australia. Fair enough from an elite, international perspective, too. But in a competitive sporting market, you can't have your cake and eat it. Not anymore.
Organisers can't profess Super Rugby's strategic importance only to consistently devalue spectacles by stripping leading players from contests.
On this front, New Zealand and Australia are equally culpable.
The Brumbies waved the white flag early in their season by sending a second-string team to Christchurch. Their loss to the Force in Perth last week, after resting a host of frontliners, will almost certainly cost the Brumbies a home semifinal.
The Hurricanes, likewise, paid the price and likely threw away the chance at the top four by spelling All Blacks Jordie Barrett, Ardie Savea and Tyrel Lomax in their defeat in Hamilton last week.
The Waratahs didn't give themselves a puncher's chance at Eden Park against the Blues and, with sixth place now seemingly assured, Darren Coleman is expected to repeat those surrender tactics for the Crusaders in Christchurch this week.
Such endless integrity issues slap paying punters in the face.
In the modern world everyone understands the player welfare argument - that monitoring workloads, minimising contract, particularly at training, are genuine imperatives.
New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson made that point clear this week.
"We have an obligation where we are juggling priorities and all the research and data we see from our high-performance people around load management and amount of minutes suggests that the players need a break around the five to six game mark," Robinson said.
"I appreciate that there are fans out there who are used to seeing players play for long periods of time. However, we feel an obligation around player welfare and all the information is telling us they need a break.
"[Concussion] is also a massive priority for us. We are looking at ways we can change the format of the game [so that] over time, the nature of [head] contact will change."
The mandatory five game rest policies imposed on Super franchises by national unions that lead to en mass rotation is, however, a sure way to aggravate and, ultimately, alienate fans.
This is but one problem that arises through the absence of an independent commission to run the competition - there is no one to challenge national unions who effectively view Super Rugby solely as a vehicle for their test teams.
Sky Sport head of commercial and events Justin Nelson, the former New Zealand National Basketball League chief executive, offered an intriguing counterpoint when he tweeted: "If a sports league is in the business of high performance every decision will be centred around the players," Nelson said. "If a sports league is in the business of entertainment, then and only then will the fans be at the centre of every decision. It's not rocket science.
"What drives sports fandom? Yes - entertainment, engagement and inclusion are vital... but above all else, fans will always go the extra mile if they believe their team has a genuine chance of winning. There is no substitute for competitive balance in sport - it is the holy grail."
Nelson's perspective is, perhaps, too simplistic for a sport such as rugby union where the Test arena remains the driving force and therefore takes priority. That's not a concept the AFL, NFL, NBA, or NRL, where the international game is often an afterthought, strongly consider.
There is no doubt, though, that Super Rugby decision-making is far too skewed towards high performance. Too often the fan is marginalised.
While this year's broadcast figures are said to be positive, a tipping point is inevitable unless that balance changes.
Amid dwindling crowds, removing the likes of Savea, Barrett and Lomax from a headline New Zealand derby is no way to encourage punters to attend matches.
If player welfare is such a pressing concern, why not reduce the number of games?
Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan floated the oft-mentioned idea of introducing a draft system to address the lack of competitiveness that, once again, promotes the Brumbies as the only Australian side challenging for this year's title.
Beauden Barrett spending a year at the Waratahs might appeal to those Sydney but that merely papers over Australia's longstanding depth cracks. And while McLennan proves the roadblock to an independent commission, any such concepts are dead ducks.
New Zealand has its own issues with the spread of talent, too. Levi Aumua's move from Moana Pasifika to Christchurch next season underlines the continued talent stockpiling by the six-time defending champion Crusaders, Blues and, to a lesser extent, the Chiefs while the Highlanders and Moana fight over the scraps.
Losing their best player for next year, amid a 12-match winless campaign and following the imminent exit of head coach Aaron Mauger, highlights the arduous road Moana face to credibility.
The Drua's upset victories over the Crusaders, Hurricanes and Rebels that sparked joyous scenes in Fiji offer hope for the future.
Yet until the fan is put first and paid more than lip service, Super Rugby Pacific will continue to fall well short of consistently compelling.