"The conditions definitely suited us, being a nice sunny day we could use the width of the field to throw the ball around.
Tauranga Sports are the 2021 Baywide Premier 1 champions. Photo / Supplied
"It was just one of those games where everything clicked. Credit to the boys for being as engaged as they were through the lockdown. It's not easy to just come back in and play again after four weeks without footy but they turned up ready and sharp."
Dodd said it had been a bit of a wild ride this season.
Tauranga Sports went through the first round unbeaten, a draw with Greerton being the only game they didn't win.
However, in round two they struggled, needing a bonus-point win over Whakarewarewa in the final round just to scrape through to the semi-finals in fourth place. From there they beat Te Puna 20-14 in the semi-final before finding real form again in the final.
"
We just simplified things and the clarity was really good, everyone was on the same page," Dodd said.
"[Halfback] Leroy Carter was outstanding, he's been the best club player all year. Every time he's been on the field he's been a step above the rest. That was no different on Saturday, he scored two tries and one of them was one of the best you'll ever see.
"Our forwards had to work really hard in the final. We made some substitutions in the second half and the guys coming on really made an impact and helped us keep it together. It was the full 22 players on the day that got us over the line."
While it was not the result Whakarewarewa wanted, head coach Jeremy Hikuroa said it was good to finally finish off the season.
"The boys wanted that closure after the break, to at least have a game," he said.
"I think the better team won on the day. The lockdown didn't help us at all, we lost momentum after rolling pretty well at the end of the season. It was the same for both teams, though.
"They just played with more intensity, they played a very good final game. They were mistake-free, they put us under pressure right from the start. I couldn't be more proud to be the coach of this group of players, though."
Meanwhile, Tauranga Sports also had a team in action in the Premier 1 Development final. However, this time they were on the losing side, with Te Puke running out 10-8 victors in a hard-fought battle.
The Bay of Plenty Volcanix were also in action on Saturday, beating the Otago Spirit 31-3 to move off the bottom of the Farah Palmer Cup Premiership table.
