Two men have entered pleas of not guilty to the charge of killing Whakamārama man Eli Johnston, with a trial date set for next year.

The two men charged with Johnston's murder are 29-year-old Tauranga man Quayde Hulbert, and 21-year-old Hamilton man Billy Rielly.

Johnson, 27, died at a house in Whakamārama in rural Tauranga on Sunday, June 12 this year.

Both men are currently in custody and appeared via audio link on August 10, firstly in Tauranga High Court charged with murder and the use of a stabbing/cutting weapon.

Suppression on the men's names lapsed today, and both entered not guilty pleas.

The two men also appeared in Tauranga District Court where Hulbert pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon – believed to be a knuckle duster – at the time of his arrest by Police on Willow Street in central Tauranga on Sunday, July 24.

Hulbert received a sentence of one month imprisonment for possession.

Emergency services were called to Johnson's property at around 8.35pm on June 12. Johnson was discovered at the address with critical injuries.

Johnston had been facing multiple drug charges, and was due to be sentenced for fleeing police custody when he died.

Annemarie Quill/Stuff