Tauranga Sports made quite a statement of intent in their 33-16 defeat of Whakarewarewa at Tauranga Domain on Saturday.
In scoring four tries to one Tauranga showed plenty of flair with their new backline combining well behind a seriously good forward pack that dominated for 80 minutes.
New faces in the key 8, 9 and 10 jerseys showed plenty of leadership and talent to burn that, come championship semifinals time, should bode well.
But for all the youthful exuberance of No 8 Ajay Mua, halfback Hayden Tyrell and first-five Kaleb Trask, the tight five was where this game was won.
Front rowers Jessie Williams, Alan McRobbie and Paula Hopoi with the Steamers engine room of Keepa Mewett and Beau Williams were outstanding in a scrum that gave Whakarewarewa no joy all game.
After a 50 metre penalty from Ryuben Vaipo to open the scoring Tauranga settled into their work. Quick thinking from Mua set up hardworking flanker Matt Ensor for a try in the corner converted with some style by Trask.
A penalty each saw Tauranga ahead 10-6 before the try of the match for Tauranga from a set piece with some slick passing and sharp insertion from fullback Steve Honey gave rampant bulldozer Paula Narawa a try in the corner.
Whakarewarewa scored early in the second half from an intercept try to their outstanding openside flanker Sioeli Alofi to temporarily fire up a strangely deflated Whakarewarewa unit.
But two tries in two minutes to flanker Dan Crowther and replacement prop Tevita Mafileo made the game safe for Tauranga Sports who spent the last 20 minutes camped in their opponent's half.
Tauranga Sports coach Zane Winslade says getting his forward pack primed for Whakarewarewa was the focus during the week.
"I just think they did really well around the park, all eight of them just working really hard on defence and that is the thing I was most pleased with," he said.
Winslade knows he has a couple of special players at 8 and 10 who continue to impress after making New Zealand secondary school teams last year.
"They are developing well. Ajay is a quality player and Kaleb too and they are both stepping up. In those positions you need to lead and as young guys they are able to do that in our team.
"It is awesome to have young guys that can come straight out of First XV rugby into leading club rugby which is pretty beneficial for us."
Whakarewarewa's coach Joe Savage was struggling to find a reason for his team's lacklustre performance in a game they usually fire up for.
"We prepared pretty well during the week but going into the warm-up we seemed a little bit flat. I think it must have been the van ride but the game just didn't go our way," Edwards said.
"We normally get up to play (Tauranga) here and it is one of the things I am puzzled about. We definitely got up against Mount Maunganui last weekend and we were very much looking forward to the game this weekend."
In other results Te Puna Sports caused a boil over at Greerton Park as they rushed out to a scarcely believable 53-0 lead at halftime against Greerton Marist before winning 58-0.
Unbeaten Rangataua Sports were knocked over 27-20 in the Eastern Bay by Paroa, Mount Maunganui Sports beat Rotoiti 37-17 at Blake Park, Te Puke Sports beat Whakatane Marist 43-7 at home and Arataki beat Poroporo 58-31 at Grenada Park.
Baywide results:
Premier: Tauranga Sports 33 Whakarewarewa 16, Te Puna 58 Greerton Marist 0, Mount Maunganui 37 Rotoiti 17, Te Puke Sports 43 Whakatane Marist 7, Paroa 27 Rangataua 20, Arataki 58 Poroporo 31.
Division One: Te Teko 48 Papamoa 24, Opotiki 31, Ruatoki 24, Judea 41 Katikati 5, Ngongotaha 27 Marist St Michaels 7, Kahukura 34 Rangiuru 32, Waimana v Waikite postponed to a later date.
Development: Tauranga Sports 39 Whakarewarewa 34, Greerton Marist 12 Te Puna 7, Mount Maunganui 43 Rotoiti 7, Te Puke Sports 56 Whakatane Marist 24, Rangataua 48 Paroa 38, Arataki 32 Poroporo 22.