Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Baywide semifinals up for grabs in final round

Bay of Plenty Times
22 Jul, 2016 01:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Mount Maunganui Sports Zar Lawrence races away to score against Tauranga Sports. Photo/Andrew Warner

Mount Maunganui Sports Zar Lawrence races away to score against Tauranga Sports. Photo/Andrew Warner

The 2016 Baywide club season is one of the most competitive in recent memory.

That is certainly the case in the top Premier 1 division with just tomorrow's final round to play before the semifinals next Saturday.

Drake Mount Maunganui Sports (28) and Rangataua Sports (23) will host semifinals but any two of Te Puke Sports (17), Tauranga Sports (16), Rotoiti (16) and Te Puna (14) will be their opponents.

On recent form it is anyone's guess who will make it.

The draw can be a cruel beast at this time of the year and certainly Rotoiti would have preferred not to be facing runaway leaders Mount Maunganui.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But they do have them at home at Emery Park where visiting teams often leave with just the memorable view across the lake for their troubles.

Defending champs Tauranga Sports have lost their last two games and travel to Whakatane Marist in desperate need of points and a confidence boost. They should prevail against a weakened Marist side but there have been plenty of upsets this season.

Without question the game of the round is at Murray Salt Stadium where Te Puke host Te Puna in what should be a ding-dong battle for a semifinals berth.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The boutique stadium will be rocking with a full house there to support Te Puke's charity fundraiser day for "It's Not OK" campaign, which will not help Te Puna's chances.

Both coaches say their teams are excited about the occasion and the hope of a semifinal reward for winning.

Te Puke mentor Craig Jeffries says everything is on the line in the last round for both teams.

"It is great for the spectators but not so flash for the stress levels of the coaches, but it's been like that for a few weeks now so I guess we should be becoming accustomed to it," he said.

"Te Puna will be on a bit of a roll after their win over Tauranga Sports last weekend and will be a mighty challenge as they kept themselves in playoff contention by doing so."

Te Puna are boosted by the return of Steamers midfielder Terrence Hepetema, who played a key role in the 5-3 win over Tauranga last week.

"It was nice to welcome Terrence back after an injury lay off and his contribution was immense," coach Daniel Quate said.

"Leading into this week's game it's great to have our representative players back for both trainings. Like all clubs we've had to make do with only having those guys for one session these last five weeks to accommodate Steamers squad trainings.

"To have them for both will be really beneficial and we're also hoping Shahn Eru will be available for selection this week.

"If we are lucky enough to get him back
we'll be close to our full complement of players which is rare for this time of year.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I'm expecting Te Puke to be very strong at set piece and play quite a direct game.

"It should be a very exciting day with a lot riding on it."

Draws, points tables Page 27

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Sport

'My moment': NZ-born boxer becomes first Māori to be crowned undisputed world champ

12 Jul 03:58 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Puchner makes history with silver at U23 canoe slalom world titles

12 Jul 03:37 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

One taken to Tauranga Hospital after SH29 crash

12 Jul 02:27 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'My moment': NZ-born boxer becomes first Māori to be crowned undisputed world champ

'My moment': NZ-born boxer becomes first Māori to be crowned undisputed world champ

12 Jul 03:58 AM

In her debut at Madison Square Garden, the 30-year-old produced a 'total beatdown'.

Puchner makes history with silver at U23 canoe slalom world titles

Puchner makes history with silver at U23 canoe slalom world titles

12 Jul 03:37 AM
One taken to Tauranga Hospital after SH29 crash

One taken to Tauranga Hospital after SH29 crash

12 Jul 02:27 AM
Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

Landslide sparks evacuations, roads closed, homes flooded after storm

12 Jul 12:43 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP