Volleyball: Fine showing
Western Bay of Plenty teams enjoyed a near-clean sweep in the Midlands indoor volleyball league played at Baypark's TECT Arena on Saturday.
In the men's league, Tauranga had two wins out of two, downing Hamilton Blue three sets to two and Mauao Black 3-1, with Mauao Red having two clean sheet wins against Rotovegas and Hamilton Blue. Tauranga A women were largely untroubled in their wins over Tauranga B and Rotovegas, with Tauranga B and C finishing the day with a win each.
Midlands volleyball league (TECT Arena)
Men: Tauranga b Hamilton Blue 3-2 (25-21, 25-23, 20-25, 20-25, 16-14); Mauao Black b Hamilton Silver 3-1 (17-25, 25-12, 25-20, 25-18); Mauao Red b Rotovegas 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-8); Tauranga b Mauao Black 3-1 (25-16, 17-25, 25-22, 25-19); Rotovegas b Hamilton Silver 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-20); Mauao Red b Hamilton Blue 3-0 (25-10, 29-27, 25-9).
Women: Tauranga A b Tauranga B 3-0 (25-22, 25-27, 25-26); Tauranga C b Rotovegas 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-15); Tauranga B b Hamilton A 3-1 (25-13, 25-18, 18-25, 25-19); Hamilton A b Tauranga C 19-25, 26-28, 25-14, 25-23, 17-15); Tauranga A b Rotovegas 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-8).
Golf: Home advantage
Reigning champions Tauranga will have home advantage when they take on Rotorua in Bay of Plenty's Golf's championship pennant semifinals on May 13. Omanu, beaten in last year's final, and Mt Maunganui will clash in the other semi after a dramatic final day of round-robin on Sunday at Whakatane.
Mt Maunganui and Omokoroa were on a collision course for the semifinal spot in the championship's blue section, with Mount sealing second spot with a tight 6 to 5 victory, coming from behind after trailing 2 to 1 in the foursomes.
Mount were forced to reply on their greater depth in the individual matchplay as Tony Brown, Jason Madden, Bailey Smith, Dave Enright and Hayden Beard's win got them home, with Brown and Madden winning their matches on the final hole.
Tauranga led the blue section heading into the final round and consolidated top qualifying spot with a 10-2 thumping of Springfield, winning all eight singles matches by comfortable margins after the foursomes were split.
Te Puke threw an early scare through the Omanu camp with a 2 to 1 lead in the morning but, as expected, Omanu battled back in the singles with wins to Ron Sisson, Adam Grierson, Justin Rasmussen, Paul Crone and No1 Craig Hamilton in a 7 to 4 victory, with No5 Rasmussen only just getting acquainted with the back nine in his 10 and 8 thrashing of Darrin Maxwell. Rotorua's victory over Otumoetai by the same margin saw them finish second in qualifying in the gold section.
Taupo will play Whakatane for the wooden spoon on May 13, with the loser possibly facing a promotion/relegation play-off depending on which club wins Senior A.
Bay of Plenty championship pennants @ Whakatane:
Omanu 7 Te Puke 4: Foursomes: Te Puke 2 to 1: Singles: Ron Sisson def Harry Hillier 1up, Jobey Hudson halved with Mark Spitz, Adam Grierson def David Priest 4/3, Justin Rasmussen def Darrin Maxwell 10/8, Paul Crone def Allen Smith 2/1, Jordan Golding lost to Adrian Campbell 1down, Mark Kiwi halved with Charlie Hillier, Craig Hamilton def John Campbell 5/4.
Mount Maunganui 6 Omokoroa 5: Foursomes: Omokoroa 2 to 1: Singles: Tony Brown def Stephen Graham 2up, Damian Kempson lost to Tony Hewlett 7/6, Jason Madden def Jon Stewart 1 up, Bailey Smith def Bryan Pirani 6/4, David Enright def Harry Middleton 2/1, Mark Hughes lost to Darryn Lowans 3/2, Hayden Beard def Tyler King 6/5, Campbell Irvine lost to Andrew Pratt 1 down.
Rotorua 7 Otumoetai 4: Foursomes Rotorua 3-1. Singles: George Macdonald halved with Fenton Tawa, Mark Hall lost to Steve Milroy 1 down, Steven Holloway def Paul Milroy 3/2, Kerry Smith def Glenn Boyer 5/4, Dave Humphrey lost to Brad Geary 1down, William Howard def Chris Charlton 1up, Victor Janin lost to Damon Clarke down, Landyn Edwards def Cameron Neal 3/1.
Tauranga 10 Springfield 2: Foursomes 2-2. Singles: John Waretini def Gary Herbert 5/3, Karl Knedler def Mark Rawson 5/4, Ben Shanly def Craig Tiriana 8/7, Hayden O'Donnell def Mark Smith 7/6, David Feeney def Paul Fox 2/1, Blair Murdock def Paul Elmiger 5/4, Eddie Burgess def Tony Cross 4/2, Sam Davis def Shane Cole 7/6.
Final points: Blue section: Tauranga 43, Mount Maunganui 34, Omokoroa 31, Springfield 23, Taupo 9. Gold section: Omanu 39, Rotorua 36, Te Puke 27, Otumoetai 19, Whakatane 18.
Football: Outcome awaited
Tauranga City United will be knocking on the door of top four when Auckland Football allocate them the win points from Anzac Day's abandoned Northern League division two clash with Manukau City.
City are up to sixth in the 12-team league after Sunday's 3-0 win over Warkworth and are awaiting the outcome of a judicial hearing before points from their abandoned match are dished out. They were leading 2-1 against Manukau in the 79th minute at Massey Park when the referee had his jaw broken after being punched by a home team player who had been red carded. Tauranga City club co-ordinator Tony Pill emailed Auckland Football on Sunday night querying when the points for the Manukau game would be allocated. Those three points would lift Tauranga above Warkworth into fifth, a point shy of Mangere United. Pill said there were three options for any game that had been abandoned and referred to the controlling body's judiciary - a default 3-0 win to the innocent party (in this case Tauranga), result stands or game to be replayed.
"National practice is that once three-quarters of a game is played then the result at the time of abandonment stands.
"Three-quarters in this case is 67 minutes, so with 79 minutes gone I would imagine the 2-1 scoreline would remain and we should get the points as a matter of course."
Tauranga next play Matamata Swifts in a keenly-anticipated derby on Saturday at Matamata Domain (kickoff 2.45pm).
Second division:
Tauranga City 3 (T. Livesey, C. Irvine, J. Nelson) Warkworth 0. HT: 1-0.
North Shore Utd 3 (J. Gray 2, J. Philson) Fencibles 1 (R. Robinson). HT: 1-1.
Mangere 3 (S. Mohammed Nazim, J. Hoyt, D. Lingam) Hibiscus Coast 2 (C. Smart, D. Cyra). HT: 0-0.
Waiuku 3 (D. Sinclair, E. Crean, N. Rewi) Western Springs 4 (P. Lane 3, M. Wildman pen). HT: 2-1.
Onehunga Mangere 2 (C. McDermott, N. Aminian) Papakura City 9 (C. Abbott 4, D. Billot 2, J. Baker, R. Sharma). HT: 1-4.
Matamata Swifts 2 (J. McNab 2) Manukau City 0. HT: 1-0.
League: Lead shared
Pikiao Warriors have shored up their place at the top of the Bay of Plenty district rugby league table with a 36-22 win over Tauranga Whalers at Puketawhero Park.
The Rotorua team share the lead with Tauranga's Otumoetai Eels, who grabbed win points on Saturday courtesy of the bye. Although the scoreline suggests Warriors had a relatively easy win, Whalers will be ruing not bringing an extra match ball. With the home side responsible for supplying three match balls for the game, Pikiao fronted with one, which helped their tired side from succumbing to a rejuvenated Whalers late in the second spell.
Pikiao led 24-10 at halftime before Whalers fought back, with player/coach Paul Pou scoring in each half, with the Tauranga side's other four pointers coming from half Floy Te Kani and hooker Ricky Quinlan. Pou said his side would need to step it up if they were wanting to be competitive against Otumoetai Eels this weekend.
"The only thing that really let us down was our fundamentals of the game and not sticking to the game plan. All compliments to Pikiao, they put a lot of pressure on our halves. We'll take a lot from this game and address what we did [wrong] ... it doesn't get any easier with Otumoetai. We will have to strip our game back and have a structured process in place to complete our sets."
In the other games in the competition Pacific were too strong for Taupo, and Central had their second loss in a row with a 28-10 defeat by Forestland.
Premier grade: Pikiao 36 (Manaaki O'Brien, Connor Hohepa 2, Andrew Gardiner, Daniel Biddle-Hunuhunu, Jason Kameta tries; Pirikawana Taiatini 6 cons) Whalers 22 (Floy Te Kani, Paul Pou 2, Ricky Quinlan tries; Paul Pou, Ricky Quinlan, Floy Te Kani cons) Halftime: 24-10; Pacific 48 Taupo 24, Forestland 28 Central 10, Otumoetai default win (Ngongotaha withdrawn).
Premier reserve grade: Mangakino 66 Putaruru, Pikiao 28 Tauranga 26, Otumoetai 32 Ngongotaha 22, Pacific 34 Taupo 24, Central 50 Forestland 22, Turangi 52 Reporoa 24.
Hockey: Emphatic win
Bayleys Otumoetai ran away with their Intercity men's premier hockey clash against Waiau Pa, banging in five second half goals to triumph 7-1. Jeremy Lydiard and Aaron McNabb both gathered a brace of goals as Otumoetai comfortably accounted for opponents who played in the Intercity second division last season.
The sole member of CMS Mt Maunganui's current line-up who has played for the Black Sticks, Lincoln Churchill, stamped his name on the scoresheet four times including three from penalty corners, as his side downed Rotorua Indians 5-2.
There was little significance in this match at the Tauranga Hockey Centre between the bye teams from the two pools, but no one told Rotorua Indians, who lifted their intensity in the second spell and scored twice, forcing the Mount to regroup before scoring the final goal of the game.
In the premier women's grade, reigning champions Otumoetai played at the same venue and notched the same score as the opening round, although the opposition was different as they opened up a 5-0 lead against Onewhero before running out 9-1 winners.
Mt Maunganui women were beaten 4-2 by Rotorua Aces, with Aces' experience allowing them to dominate and lead throughout the game. But Mt Maunganui, in only their second season in the Intercity league, walked off the turf at the end of the match satisfied that they had made Aces work for the win.
Premier men:
Otumoetai 7 (Jeremy Lydiard 2, Aaron McNabb 2, Andrew Bigham, Kent Ravenhill) Waiau Pa 1, HT 2-1.
Mt Maunganui 5 (Lincoln Churchill 4, Cory Bruin) Rotorua Indians 2 (Nirwair Singh, Chevez Makan), HT 2-0.
Waikato University 3 (A Mukherjee, T Hopping, A Broadbent) Te Awamutu 1 (T Waaka), HT 1-0.
Fraser Tech 4 Thames Valley 0, HT 2-0. The youthful Fraser Tech team upset last year's Intercity champions Thames Valley at Ngatea.
Rotorua Aces 3 Pukekohe Indians 1, HT 0-1.
Kohekohe 4 Onewhero 0, HT 1-0.
Suburbs Old Boys 2 Varsity Reserves 1, HT 2-0.
Premier women:
Otumoetai 9 Onewhero 1, HT 5-0.
Rotorua Aces 4 (Orewa Hepi 2, Harina Rangitauira , Pirihita Rangitauira) Mt Maunganui 2 (Kaitlin Eyre, Katie Horan), HT 2-1.
Fraser Tech 2 Te Awamutu 0, HT 0-0.
Hamilton Old Girls 4 Taupo 0, HT 2-0.
Waikato University 6 Franklin 1, HT 5-1.
Football: Side unbeaten
Taupo are still the only unbeaten team in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty federation's top flight after a 2-1 away win over Otorohanga at the weekend.
Claudelands Rovers retained the Challenge Shield when they beat Tauranga Boys' College 3-1 while Te Puna-based AFC Fury defeated Whakatane Town 2-1 to move into third.
Melville United put their recent poor run behind them with a 4-2 win over Otumoetai at Gower Park while Rotorua football followers witnessed two games of two halves.
At Stembridge Rd, Ngongotaha were 4-0 ahead at the break but Old Blues came back to earn a 4-4 draw, while Rotorua United were 2-0 down to Unicol at the break, 3-0 down soon after the restart before staging a comeback to draw 3-3.
Ngongotaha supporters would have been more than happy at half time after two penalties converted by Isaac Haua, and goals from Josh Haua and Dwayne Willemsen gave the Villagers a comfortable 4-0 lead, despite the loss of Moses Davis who was red carded after an altercation.
But it all turned to custard after the break. Old Blues were rejuvenated and with Franz Marco and Andy Cooper scoring twice each they put the home side to the sword. The Villagers' cause wasn't helped when they were down to nine men after Simon Ti Kiri was given an early shower.
Federation 1 league: Claudelands Rovers 3 Tauranga Boys' College 1, AFC Fury 2 Whakatane Town 1, Ngongotaha 4 Old Blues 4, Rotorua United 3 Waikato Unicol 3, Melville United 4 Otumoetai 2, Otorohanga 1 Taupo 2.
Points: Taupo 15, Claudelands 12, AFC Fury 10, Whakatane 9, Ngongotaha 7, Melville 7, Waikato Unicol 6, Otumoetai 6, Tauranga Boys College 6, Old Blues 4, Otorohanga 3, Rotorua United 1.
Federation 2 league: West Hamilton 0 Te Awamutu 2, Tauranga City 7 Rotorua United 0, Cambridge 4 Matamata Swifts 0, HRFC Clube Alegria 11 Tokoroa 1, Katikati bye.
Points: Tauranga City 12, Cambridge 12, HRFC Clube Alegria 10, Katikati 9, Te Awamutu 4, Rotorua United 4, West Hamilton 3, Matamata 3, Tokoroa 1.
Club rugby: Narrow victory
Katikati's winning start to the Seeka KI Western Bay of Plenty club rugby competition is over after they were pipped by a point by fellow table-toppers Matakana Island on Saturday.
Katikati made the early running in the main attraction on Matakana Island and led 10-0 after the first quarter, with Richie Earl and Sione Na'a crashing over for a tries.
Matakana fought back, with Ted Murray and John Webb dotting the ball. Hilton Gardiner's conversion game the home side a 12-10 buffer at halftime.
The second half was a battle, with two Richie Earl penalties giving Katikati a 16-12 lead with the clock ticking down.
With two minutes to go, Matakana put together 19 continuous phases of play as Ted Murray crossed for his second try to go ahead 17-16, holding out Katikati in the dying seconds.
Katikati's defeat left Arataki Black top of the leaderboard after they ran riot over Arataki Red.
Mount Maunganui totally dominated their match with Rangataua, scoring 81 unanswered points, Papamoa moved into a share of second after running away from Te Puke Sports 58-3, Tauranga Sports posted a big 57-15 win over Judea 57-15, Eastern Districts won their first match of the season 36-7 against Rangiuru and Te Puna also got off the mark with a 37-25 defeat of Greerton Marist.
Seeka KI Western Bay senior scores: Eastern Districts 36 Rangiuru 7, Matakana Island 17 Katikati 16, Te Puna 37 Greerton Marist 25, Papamoa 58 Te Puke Sports 3, Mount Maunganui 81 Rangataua 0, Tauranga Sports 51 Judea 15, Arataki Black 94 Arataki Red 25.