Jubilant cheers rang out around Emery Park on Saturday as Rotoiti secured a place in the top eight of the Baywide Premiership.
They beat Greerton Marist 30-28, snatching the crucial victory with three minutes to go when Logan Henry's penalty kick sailed through the posts - much to the relief of the ecstatic home support.
In the battle for the top eight in the Rotoiti nabbed seventh place whilst Rangataua Sports beat Te Puna 15-12 to clinch sixth place.
Rotorua's Whakarewarewa defeated Paroa 38-24 but miss out on a top eight place in the new Premier 1 grade after Greerton Marist snatched a vital bonus point in their loss to Rotoiti.
Greerton Marist and Whakarewarewa both finished on 27 points with Greerton claiming eighth place thanks to their 22-20 victory over Whakarewarewa two weeks ago.
Rotoiti secured a place in the top eight of the premiership after their nail biting win over Greerton Marist on Saturday. PHOTO/BEN FRASER
And the evenness of this season's premier division and the importance of Rotoiti's match was evident on the pitch with little to choose between the two sides as they slid over for a total of seven tries.
"It was a very tough game, we knew Greerton were going to be good and that showed on the pitch. They really made us work for the win," said Rotoiti vice-captain Joe Royal.
"We were always confident even when we were behind, we knew if there was enough time we could get the ball back like we had been doing through out the game.
"The boys had the belief not to give up. It was very close but now we are very excited about the next round and just happy to get the win that takes us there."
Greerton started the stronger of the two teams and were 10-0 up after 10 minutes thanks to a converted penalty from Elliott Davies in the opening minutes of the game and a try from flanker Dan Van den Berg who capitalised on a Rotoiti handling error in front of their own try line.
But three minutes later Rotoiti's full back Chanse Perham burst through the middle after intercepting a Greerton loose pass and slid over to make the score 10-5, after Henry missed the conversion.
And with a foothold in the game, Rotoiti then dominated the game for the next 25 minutes - crashing over for two tries with two conversions.
Both were scored by the powerful Abraham Tito off dominant Rotoiti scrums with Greerton only keeping in touch thanks to two penalty conversions taking the score to 19-16 to the home side at half-time.
Rotoiti came storming out of the starting blocks after half-time with barnstorming Chiefs prop Siegfried Fisi'ihoi bulldozing over from yet another home scrum in the left corner taking the score to 24-16 after 50 minutes.
Rotoiti's vice-captain Joe Royal dug deep for his side in their vital win over Greerton Marist. PHOTO/BEN FRASER
However the away side battled back with Gregory Banister finishing off an impressive fast Greerton attacking move in the left corner after 60 mins to take it to 24-21. And against the run of play Greerton's Richard Deed broke through the middle after intercepting a wayward Rotoiti pass to power over the line edging Greerton 28-27 in front with ten minutes remaining.
But with deafening home support Rotoiti rallied round and seized their opportunity in the 77th minute when Henry calmly converted after his side were awarded a penalty due to a Greerton tackling error.
Greerton coach Kevin Lee wasn't too disheartened with the result and is now focused on the next round of the competition.
"I think it was a fair result today as Rotoiti possibly had more of the possession," he said. "We stuck in their and gave a good performance. I'm just relieved we have made it through."
In the new competition, the top eight premier teams will now battle it out for the premier division title, with the bottom four and the first four Division 1 teams now in Premier 2 - including Whaka who beat Paroa 38-24 on Saturday.
They join fellow local teams Ngongotaha, Waikite and Marist St Michael's, with the top four finishers of Premier 2 being promoted into the Premier division next year.
- additional reporting by Peter White
Baywide Premier Whakarewarewa 38 v Paroa 24 Rotoiti 30 Greerton Marist 28 Whakarewarewa 38 Paroa 24 Te Puke 54 Arataki 10 Mount Maunganui 99 Opotiki 7 Whakatane Marist 27 Tauranga Sports 17 Rangataua 15 Te Puna 12
Baywide Premier Points: Mount Maunganui Sports 47 Whakatane Marist 40 Tauranga Sports 40 Te Puke Sports 37 Te Puna 34 Rangataua 31 Rotoiti 28 Greerton Marist 27 Whakarewarewa 27 Arataki 7 Opotiki 7 Paroa 4
Baywide Division 1 Results: Waikite 33 Te Teko 12 Ngongotaha 31 Judea 22 Poroporo 34 Rangiuru 15 Marist St Michael's 29 Kahukura 12 Katikati 24 Papamoa 3
