HIKURANGI wing Lewis Rogers scored his third try of the Northland under-16 league grandfinal to send his teammates into wild celebrations after finally beating Kaitaia Legends for the title in golden point extra time.
It was a dramatic victory for the Hikurangi side who started - and finished - the match
with the bare 13 players on the park.
They started the match with a hiss and a roar, scoring three unanswered tries before the startled Kaitaia Legends side began to claw their way back into the match.
The game then evened out, Kaitaia using their reserves' bench to good effect to peg back the Hikurangi lead, tying the match up 22-22 at half-time.
Michael Taki and Axle Rawiri were standouts for the Kaitaia team, while Blaze Stevens, Jordan Rau and Kane Rudolph were some of the outstanding players for Hikurangi.
The battle of the standoffs was a highlight of the match, with Kaitaia's Te Puhi Rudolph and Hikurangi's Gavin Causer doing their best to get their side on the front foot during the match.
The Whangarei junior finals were held the following day at Otaika Park.
Under-6 champions Marist defeated a vastly improved Takahiwai side in the final and, in the process, booked themselves a game at Mt Smart Stadium to play a curtainraiser to the Warriors versus Melbourne Storm game on Sunday, July 27.
In the under-8s, Hikurangi proved what talent they have by claiming the trophy and then the majority of the team fronted again for the club to also win the U-10 final.
The Marist/Manaia club won the U-12 title.
The Whangarei representative age-group trials will be held on July 20. The U-6s and the U-8s start at 10am, the U-10s and U-12s at 10.30am and the U-14s at 11.30am and the U-16s at 12.30pm.
