Otumoetai Eels are already looking forward to the kickoff of the inter-district competition in June after thrashing what was supposed to be their toughest rivals in the Bay of Plenty district rugby league club premiership on Saturday.
In their first home game at Mitchelle Park since last season, the Bay Sprint Couriers Eels laid on an impressive eight tries in their 40-12 romp over Tokoroa's Pacific Sharks, with the Sharks' two tries coming in the dying seconds of the one-sided gallop. Tauranga Whalers got their first points of the season when Ngongotaha, once Rotorua's leading club, defaulted its premier and reserve games.
The Eels might be full of fresh faces, with less than half of last year's premier team back and the rest purportedly living and working in Western Australia, but they've lost none of the run-and-gun style that last year carried them into the semifinals of the Waikato, Coastline and Bay of Plenty zone premiership.
Eels skipper Mikaere October was full of praise for the undermanned Sharks, who had several of their best players away working, but it's clear after just two weeks of the Bay of Plenty district competition that the WaiCoa Bays competition can't come quickly enough for the Tauranga side, who now have the luxury of stretching their legs and bedding in defensive systems before taking on Waikato's best.
"The goal is WaiCoa Bays; those are the game we're building for and that's what we play the game for," said the hard-working Eels hooker, who slithered over for a deserved first-half try.
"We want to do well in the Bay of Plenty competition but we're targeting WaiCoa Bays to go one, if not two, places better than last season."
The Eels were too clinical from the outset on Saturday, with former Canberra Raiders-contracted half Josh Weeden having the ball on a string with his kicking game.
His perfectly weighted crossfield kick fell into wing Owen Rhind's arms in just the sixth minute for the opening try, with opposite wing Ryan Gordon also profiting from Weeden's clever boot. Rhind ended the game with three tries.
The Eels led 26-0 at halftime, with tries to Rhind (2), Matt Mason, October, and Ryan, and jumped to a 40-0 lead midway through the second 40, with centre Tane Tuitoko, Rhind and Detroit Paki going over. Weeden landed half of his eight goal attempts.
October is back this season as influential as ever after fracturing his neck last June in a tackle while playing the Sharks, abandoning plans to make his comeback in the season-ending national provincial competition for the WaiCoa Bays Stallions.
He needed clearance to play this year and got the green light a couple of months ago.
"The neck is good now but I don't go into games worrying about it because injuries can happen any time."
With the club continuing to attract good personnel in the offseason the loss of half of last year's premier team, including a handful of rep players, hadn't had a huge impact so far.
"There's a heap of new players but a few started turning up towards the end of last season and the new faces have jumped into the structure pretty well, while the old hands know the drill. We still haven't got a massive pack compared to some of the other teams so the aim again is to play hard and fast and control the pace of the game."
Premier: Otumoetai Eels 40 (Owen Rhind 3, Matt Mason, Ryan Gordon, Mikaere October, Tane Tuitoko, Detroit Paki tries; Josh Weeden 4 goals) Pacific Sharks 12 (Cassius Reio, Jackbond Pereau tries; Delaney Takiri goals). Halftime: 26-0. Pikiao 52 Central 10, Forestland 30 Taupo 42, Tauranga Whalers bt Ngongotaha by default.
Premier Reserves: Pikiao 30 Central 24, Otumoetai 30 Pacific 42, Forestland 30 Taupo 28, Whalers bt Ngongotaha by default, Mangakino 32 Reporoa 26, Putaruru 68 Turangi 0.