Despite a gritty effort from the Northern Swords 17s team, they went down in their final match of the National Competition, to Mid Central Vipers 10-16 in a rugby league extravaganza at Toll Stadium.
The 17s age grade fixture was one of four matches played at the stadium yesterday ina celebration of Northland league and the improvement the code has seen in the past two years, since the inception of Rugby League New Zealand's National Competition.
Both the Mid Central 17s team and the Swords were chasing their first win of the six round competition, and the 17s trailed at halftime 12-6 after a determined effort in the first spell, when Swords centre Tyson Paul closed the gap with a try converted by Corey Naera to keep their side in the mix.
The Swords 17s were solid in the second half, with hooker Aaryn Wikaire, and Naera playing in the halves, combining well to create opportunities for the hosts.
However, a niggly Vipers contingent capitalised on their ball possession and extended their lead to eventually claim the win, despite centre Kahi Harawera adding another four points to the scoreboard for the Swords.
The Northern Swords 15s went into their match against Mid Central set to secure their third win in the competition. But the only Swords team to win a match in two seasons of the competition, could not repeat the feat and crumbled against the Vipers, who won comfortably 10-36.
Fullback Kauri Harema and prop Kadince Christensen both scored for the Swords, with Tom Smith kicking a goal, however, the youngsters lacked their usual flair, and errors slipped into their play. A lack of mongrel from the Swords saw the Vipers stretch out their lead and they did not look back.
The Swords Premiers side also played their last match of the competition having failed to progress through to next weekend's finals, going down 16-24 to Mid-Central.
