Hurley in fine form as Carterton down Pioneer

The boot of first-five Jono Hurley played a big part in Carterton's 30-25 win over Pioneer when matches in the preliminary round of the Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby championship kicked off on Saturday.
Hurley landed six penalties and a conversion for a personal tally of 20 points but accurate goal kicking was not his only forte.
His option taking during a first half in which Carterton faced a stiff wind was excellent and his lengthy punts were a valuable asset in a second spell when the wind became more of a breeze.
If Hurley was the standout for Carterton his opposite number in Hoani Peacock was, however, little less effective for Pioneer. He showed nimble footwork in a couple of scything runs, generally got good length with his clearing kicks and picked up 10 points with a well-taken try, a penalty and a conversion.
On the score of teamwork Carterton were at their best in the opening 20 minutes.
Aware of the need to dominate the forward exchanges so as to deny Pioneer the chance to use the wind to their advantage they did exactly that through the tenacity of a pack which was impressively united in their approach.
Pioneer, on the other hand, started in surprisingly tentative manner and it was not until the latter stages of the first half they obtained the regularity of quality ball needed to fully utilise the conditions.
And they made it count too, coming from 14-3 down to put their noses in front 15-14, thanks in the main to splendid tries by wing Phillip Brown and Peacock, before Hurley landed a penalty to give Carterton a 17-15 halftime lead.
The second spell was almost a repeat of the first with Carterton having the edge in the first 20 minutes and increasing their lead to a comfortable looking 30-18 only for Pioneer to hit back strongly in the last 10 minutes and register the converted try which at least gave them a bonus point for finishing within seven points or less from the winning side.
While Hurley was clearly their player of the day Carterton was well served up front by lock Tomasi Kedrabuka, who dominated the lineouts and was a determined runner in broken play, grafting front rowers Lance Graves and Joe Harwood and a couple of hard working loosies in Reuben Daysh and Rhys Percy.
Also winger Lance Stevenson seldom failed to make good metreage when given the chance to demonstrate his attacking skills.
Hooker Ihirangi Namana, prop Eruera Henare and flanker Mike Harmon were prominent in the Pioneer pack as was Lee Ewe when he joined the fray in the second half.
Peacock was obviously the pick of the backs but halfback Kako Te Whare, wing Phillip Brown and fullback Glen Fergusson all had their moments as well.
The return of the first string inside back combination of James Bruce and Dean Grant was welcomed by Gladstone in their 19-9 win over Greytown at Gladstone.
Their tactical nous was always obvious in a match which saw Gladstone pull away over the last quarter after the scores had been level at 6-6 for a quite considerable period.
Flanker Steve Wilkinson was another Gladstone player to shine, taking down some good lineout ball and running strongly with ball in hand.
Greytown had the misfortune to lose two of their best forwards, hooker Moi Leimainalu and lock Norm Henricksen, during the course of the match.
Leimainalu caused some consternation when he fainted while waiting for Gladstone to take a kick in the opening few minutes while Henricksen, who was prominent in lineout and general play, left the field injured early in the second half.
Fullback Senoa Isaac was in good form for them as were first-five Richard Tosswill and centre Lawrence Matthews.
It was very much a game of two halves when East Coast and Eketahuna did battle at Whareama. East Coast winning 19-17.
The Coasters had a strong wind behind them in the first spell and under the inspired leadership of Dion Mitchell they dominated proceedings both in territory and on the scoreboard, leading 19-0 at the break.
Nic Olson got his usual try and was always dangerous whenever the ball came his way.
It was an entirely different story in the second half though with Eketahuna calling the tune there. A late try wide out actually gave No.8 Steve Olds the chance to level the scores with a successful conversion but he was off target and the visitors had to settle for a bonus point. Olds was a standout player for them, along with flanker Dan Udy and midfielders Jon Guillard and Chris Terry.
Marist had to work overtime for their 19-17 victory over Puketoi at Memorial Park.
Puketoi actually scored three tries to one but the boot of Marist's Byron Karaitiana got his team home.
He landed four penalties and one conversion.
The match was as evenly contested as the final score would indicate with Puketoi not only matching the more favoured Marist up front but measuring up well in the backs as well.
Short scoreboards:-
CARTERTON 30 (L.Stevenson and B.Price tries; J.Hurley six
penalties and one conversion), PIONEER 25 (P.Brown, H.Peacock and N.Rolls tries, H.Peacock
one penalty and one conversion, N.Rolls one penalty and one conversion);
EAST COAST 19 (D.Mitchell, L.Shanks and N.Olson tries; R.Farrell two conversions); EKETAHUNA 17 (J.Guillard, B.Aldsworth, H.Cameron tries; S.Olds one conversion); GLADSTONE 19 (J.Bruce try; D.Grant four penalties and one conversion), GREYTOWN 9 (R.Tosswill three penalties);
MARIST 19 (N.Couch try; B.Karaitiana four penalties and one conversion), PUKETOI 17 (L.Small, S.Finnie, J.Bambry tries; J.Liverton one conversion).