Standout season comes to an end for Ngongotaha

ALL OVER: While Ngongotaha lost their semifinal against Arataki on Saturday, they had a season to be proud of. PHOTO/FILE

While they have ticked off a return to premier rugby next season, Ngongotaha have fallen at the final hurdle in their quest for a spot in the Premier 2 final.

They suffered a 37-8 loss against a strong Arataki side in the semifinals yesterday .

Finishing in the top four means they will join the other top 11 Bay of Plenty sides in the 2018 premier competition, however they were eager to finish their season strongly and prove what a force they can be next season.

Ngongotaha coach Jodie Wharekura said his side struggled to get up again after a big performance against Waikite last weekend.

"We played our semifinal the week before, we got the team up so much to beat Waikite and make the premiers that the team was very flat on Saturday.

"In the end I just let them go out there and play rugby - we'd reached our goal and anything after that was a bonus.

"While we certainly went in with the mindset that we wanted to take it out and get some silverware at the end of the season, it just wasn't to be," Wharekura said.

He said some of the refereeing decisions went against his side, but took nothing away from the opposition.

"At the end of the day we were beaten by a better side."

Wharekura and his coaching team were already hard at work planning for next season, in an effort to ensure they not only stayed in the premier division next season but were competitive as well.

"It's been a wonderful season, I had a three-year vision and we've done it in two years. We're over the moon and now we are debriefing the whole season - we're ready to rock and getting the ball rolling for 2018.

"We won't rest too long, we'll be back into the grind. We don't want to be a team who rests on their laurels, not a team that goes up and down between prem 1 and prem 2.

"We want to set a foundation so we have longevity in our club and our senior side," Wharekura said.

In the other semifinal Paroa beat Whakatane 34-27, meaning the Premier 2 final will be contested by Paroa and Arataki at Lawson Park this weekend.

Meanwhile, Kahukura's winning run in Division 1 has come to an end.

They lost a hard-fought semifinal 15-10 against Te Teko, in Te Teko on Saturday.

The Division 1 final will be between Te Teko and Ruatoki at Dunderdale Park this weekend.