Chasing Grand Final places

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

The Gisborne Tairawhiti Rugby League competition is into its playoffs stage and three teams showed last weekend that they want to be the main act.

The top-four playoffs get under way tomorrow, with teams bidding to make the grand final on Saturday, October 6.

Last Saturday’s round showed teams are hungry to qualify for a spot in the final.

The first of two games at Awapuni Sports Stadium was a close match between defending champions Paikea Whalers and Waengapu Stallions — the Whalers coming away with a hard-earned 18-10 win.

Paikea crossed for two tries early in the first half and solid second-half defence kept the Stallions at bay although they didn’t go down without a fight.

The Stallions were strong towards the end of the first half and the majority of the second. They showed they can be dangerous on attack, with a number of line breaks and big plays through the middle of the field.

In game 2, Stirling Logging Ltd Ngatapa Stags dominated Turanga Panthers to win 62-26.

The Stags showed plenty of class, especially through their backline, including three tries in the first 10 minutes.

This class will be put to the test tomorrow in an elimination game against the Stallions at 2.30pm at the stadium.

That game will follow a top-two playoff between the Whalers and Seeka Falcons at 1pm.

The winners of this game advance straight to the grand final while the losers face the winners of the Stags v Stallions to decide the other finalists.