A hat-trick from Teatawhai Tahere helped give Bay Slayers the edge in their match up against Wairoa Bulls, as both teams vied for some much needed points in the Whangarei City and Districts Rugby League Competition. The former Kaikohe Lions player opened the scoring in Saturday's game, with a try againstthe Slayer's Wairoa hosts at Dargaville's Memorial Park. The hooker has already had an impressive season to date and carried that form into the match, where Bay Slayers dominated early. Tahere dotted the ball down twice more to complete the hat-trick, while Santos Gillies crossed the line to extend the visitor's lead. Wairoa's Hohepa Harding kicked two successful penalties in the first half in an attempt to close the gap, but the Bay Slayers already had their tails up with their handy 26-4 lead at half time. Jamil King came out firing for the Slayers and minutes after the restart, showed his speed when he saw space and gapped it, outsprinting the defence for 60m to score the Slayers final try. The Bulls moved up a gear in the second half, and showed flashes of inspiration, creating opportunities as the Slayers tired. Shelford Edwards, Taho Kake and Robbie Paniora broke through the Slayers' defensive line to get within reach of the Slayers, despite some huge hits from the forwards, with Jason "Killer" Grey at the fore.
Despite the late challenge from Wairoa, the Slayers held on to their lead, and claimed the two points, winning 30-18.
"Our numbers are down at the moment, so it was good to come down here and get the win," Bay Slayers manager Justin Webster said. "It's the first time we have had back-to-back wins this season, (after beating Otaua in round 11), so that's positive. We're looking forward to next week against Portland." In other round 12 matches, Kaikohe, joint table leaders with Moerewa heading into the game, took a beating from Hikurangi 60-44, while City Knights added momentum to their campaign, thrashing Otaua at Otangarei, 68-8. Portland trampled the Hokianga Pioneers 56-6, while Moerewa had a good tussle with Takahiwai at Simpson Park.
Simple ball errors put Takahiwai on the back foot, and allowed Moerewa to secure the win, 24-14 and regain the top spot on the table, two points ahead of Kaikohe.
