Roller Mills fans drum up support

Auckland East have been marching to the beat of a different drum this week at Tauranga Domain.
And the merry tune banged out by three energetic Polynesian women has carried them all the way into today's Northern Roller Mills rugby tournament final.
East play arch-rivals Auckland West in the championship final today in a repeat of last year's title decider in Thames, won 12-0 by East.
East suffocated Bay of Plenty's title charge 10-0 yesterday while West saw off North Harbour 21-15 in the early semifinal, eliminating the top qualifiers from each section.
East, an intriguing mix of Polynesians from South Auckland combined with a sprinkling of pasty-faced players from Auckland's affluent Eastern suburbs, were spurred on every step of the way by their trio of drummers.
Tauranga Domain has hosted many events over the years - international cricket and rugby, rock concerts and Highland Games - but Polynesian drummers may have been a first.
Linda Lee, Lola Taulagi and Lola Fonoti have been sidelined at every game, banging their long wooden drums with unrelenting energy.
Lee's son Melani Vai is playing first-five for Auckland East while Taulagi's son Jamie is the side's left winger.
Fonoti has no connection - her son was in last year's title-winning team. But she was on the drums then and dared not break with tradition.
It didn't take much for her to be coaxed south by East's supporters to lend her tuneful encouragement.
"They wanted me to come back and I was happy to - I think the boys love the drumming and it gives them a lift when they need it," Fonoti said. "We don't set out to deliberately annoy the opposition but if we do then that helps too!"
Taulagi made sure the island drums followed the team whenever they took the field, although traditionally they were played by men. "You don't get many women [playing them] but the boys tell us it encourages them to play hard, although some other times they tell us it's a pain. We don't mind though - it's our way of giving our boys some support."
The closer it got to fulltime yesterday, with East repelling everything Bay of Plenty threw at them as they clung tenaciously to their 10-0 halftime lead, the louder the drumming got.
It mightn't always have been in perfect synchronicity but the drumming divas had a ball in the afternoon sunshine, alternating each strike with whoops of encouragement for their boys and advice for the referee.
East coach Deon Wagner said the drums added to the cultural blend of the team, where boys from Remuera, Kings and St Kentigern Preparatory packed down alongside teammates from Otara and Otahuhu. "There's players here from socio-economic backgrounds that couldn't be more different, yet pakeha or Polynesian they play as one," Wagner, a South African, said.
"I think as well as the flair and skills they bring, the white boys really get a huge laugh from the wicked sense of humour their Polynesian mates have got."
While Bay of Plenty's pack mixed it with East yesterday, their backs were outgunned. Coach Jeff Robb was disappointed the side couldn't match it.
"Going on our past record, every team came to Tauranga this week wanting to beat Bay of Plenty in the Bay. Maybe that pressure got to the boys but you can't take anything away from the Auckland teams - they deserve to be there."
Auckland West 21 (Joel Hope, Shaun Devine tries, Paris Oti, Wesley Saufuia 3 cons) North Harbour 15 (Sam Quinn, Shaun Boult tries, Jordan Jacobs pen, Bradley Moka con). Ht 14-3.
Auckland East 10 (Tom Philipa try; Simon Hickey pen, con) Bay of Plenty 0. Ht 10-0.