Wairoa burst to second-half win

Self-belief saw the Wairoa Bulls charge home against the City Knights in front of a vocal Otangarei crowd to peg their first win of the season.
After two losses in the opening rounds of the 2011 Whangarei City and Districts Rugby League Competition, Wairoa finally clicked as a team unit and showed they meant business to a fatigued City side.
Trailing 16-8 at the break, Wairoa emerged a different team in the second half, playing with a confidence that was missing during the first 40. They wasted no time from the restart, relentlessly attacking with first-half try scorer Tamati Dick adding another mark to his try tally and starting a scoring spree.
The Bulls maintained the majority of possession and defended pluckily on the rare occasions the ball was turned over. Once fullback Lee Kuljish had scored on the flank and put his side into the lead for the first time, it seemed like City Knights had given up. Their slackened defence let the Bulls run riot.
Kuljish scored another quick try, and five-eighth Shelford Edwards ran in two. Pat Tane added another try to his first half effort, while Jai Tau, Rangimai King and Logan Pocklington all scored one try a piece.
Their effort in the second 40 was a stark contrast from the first, where City dominated with their intimidating defence. The Knights looked to have the upper hand when Lance Edmonds replied to Wairoa's early bid with two quick tries, along with Sua Sosopo, helping them to an early lead.
In charge of restoring the faith and self-belief within the team at the break was coach Greg Frearson.
The man of few words was visibly touched by his team's rewarding 56-16 victory and did say his team's performance was what they had been building towards.
"It was a great team effort ... good things take time," Frearson said.
Working alongside Frearson as assistant coach this season is former Otahuhu player Carl Simons. Simons added the win produced a confidence which would hopefully start the Bulls' season rolling.
"We have been building slowly this year. We made a fresh start and are using new ideas at the club. We've changed tack on how we train and it's a bit more structured."
In the past there has been a strong gang culture and presence at the club, but a passionate management team have banned patches and asked the guys to cover up tattoos, so they can concentrate on training, and playing footy, Simons said.
"The changes we have made seem to be paying off ... we have a great bunch of guys who want to learn and want to be out there playing."
Meanwhile, Kaikohe had a tough game against Otaua. While the Lions secured a 28-58 victory, the score line was no indication of the physical battle that was had at Otaua.
Kaikohe opened the scoreline with Billy Slade dotting down and converting his own try while Hamuera Tohu and Te Wairon-goa Tohu each got two tries. Kahn Hape, Stacey Nimmo, Tane Ravlick, Shannon McGregor, Ben Leaaetala and Te Atawhai Tahere all scored one each.
Bay Slayers turned their luck around while playing Hokianga at Okaihau. The Slayers turned their 16-14 halftime lead into a 38-20 victory.
Marist put up a good perfor-mance at Jubilee Park, but Takahiwai were too strong, winning 44-22, while Portland notched up an important win for them at Otaika Sports Park, beating Hikurangi Stags 22-26. Moerewa had a bye on Saturday.