POSSESSION: Braydon Pompey on attack for Judea. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Papamoa won the big Western Bay Division One derby with Rangiuru by 50-21 at Centennial Park in Te Puke on Saturday.
Papamoa opened the scoring with a try and in a tight first half led 15-11 at the break in play before running away with the match by 29 points. Papamoa ran in eight tries, with winger Caleb Chethen crossing for three tries out wide and converting all three. Stand-in first five Nathan Broderick received his team's player of the day award.
The latest Papamoa success has put them into third place in the standings - on the cusp of making the Premier Two championship playoffs that kick off in the second week of June. They face Opotiki at home, bottom-placed Katikati at Moore Park in Katikati and finish the first round against fellow Western Bay side Judea at Gordon Spratt Reserve.
Judea lost a hard-fought match-up with Rotorua team Marist St Michael's at Maharaia Winiata Park, while Katikati put up a much-improved performance before going down to Waimana 44-17.
Te Puna continue to lead the Development first-round title race after defeating Arataki in a hard fought encounter in the early action at Maramatanga Park.
The home side led 14-3 at the break before Arataki fought their way back into the match. With the clock ticking down, the game was up for grabs with Te Puna holding a narrow 19-17 advantage before a late converted try gave the hosts a 26-17 victory.
"Arataki gave us our hardest game of the season, and it was just what we needed heading into the championship round. It was good for our boys to be tested and a real test of our game plan," Te Puna coach Aaron Bidois said.
The Te Puna Development success is built upon a good mix of youth and experience, with nine of the team straight out of secondary school. Lock Liam Morrison was adjudged the Te Puna player of the day.
Greerton Marist made a significant move up the standings when they defeated Paroa 59-12 with Mount Maunganui also posting a big win in defeating Whakatane Marist 56-14. Te Puke Sports won 50-7 against Whakarewarewa in Rotorua, with Rangataua going down to Rotoiti 47-20.
The first round of the Western Bay of Plenty Senior Reserve playoffs resulted in three close run encounters. Tauranga Sports had a good tussle with Te Puna at Maramatanga Park before emerging with a 32-24 win, Mount Maunganui had to fight hard to beat Eastern Districts 19-8, with Greerton Gold getting past Matakana Island 29-21 in early action at Greerton Park.
Results
Division One: Waimana 44 Katikati 17, Marist St Michaels 20 Judea 17, Papamoa 50 Rangiuru 21.
Points Table (Provisional) Ngongotaha 37, Waikite 31, Papamoa 25, Marist St Michaels 24, Opotiki 23, Te Teko 23, Judea 20, Waimana 18, Kahukura 17, Rangiuru 17, Ruatoki 11, Katikati 0.
Development: Mount Maunganui 56 Whakatane Marist 14, Rotoiti 47 Rangataua 20, Greerton Marist 59 Paroa 12, Te Puke Sports 50 Whakarewarewa 7, Te Puna 26 Arataki 17, Tauranga Sports won by default from Poroporo.
Points Table (Provisional) Te Puna 39, Tauranga Sports 33, Te Puke Sports 31, Rangataua 29, Arataki 26, Greerton Marist 25, Mount Maunganui 25, Rotoiti 21, Whakarewarewa 21, Paroa 10, Poroporo 3, Whakatane Marist 3.
WBOPRFS Senior Reserve; Mount Maunganui 19 Eastern Districts 8, Tauranga Sports 32 Te Puna 24, Greerton Gold 29 Matakana Island 21, Greerton Black defeated Judea.