Bolstered by a rare club rugby appearance from Mike Delany, Mount Maunganui were the big movers in Baywide club rugby.
The former All Black pivot scored a try in Mount's thrilling 30-28 win over Te Puke Sports, marking his Steamers teammate Taniela Moa at second-five in the topsy-turvy encounter.
Mount led 15-7 at the break and 25-7 early in the second half but let Te Puke storm back into the match with three converted tries, including the sixth of the season by tighthead prop Mark Nicolaas.
Just as the home side were about to celebrate an unlikely victory, replacement Mount wing Paul Tietjens finished off a good team move to snatch back the lead and seal five competition points.
It meant Mount moved to 18 points in an incredibly congested table, where just 10 points separate the top seven teams after seven rounds of the competition.
Adding to Te Puke's misery was another hamstring strain to Nick McCashin within five minutes of the start.
That meant Moa - on his club debut - had to slide into the midfield.
Whakarewarewa's seemingly insurmountable first-round lead was slashed to just a point after a 26-20 loss to Rangataua.
The Rotorua side were fortunate to keep a one-point lead over Tauranga Sports, with Doug Edwards scoring his sixth try of the season and knocking over the conversion in the final play of the match to secure his team a bonus point.
Rangataua's energy and a dazzling game by Jason Hona at first-five had them 21-8 ahead at one stage, although Whakarewarewa halfback Chris Miller and his replacement, Kapieriere "Papa" Wharewera, shone.
Wharewera made the 2009 New Zealand Schools side with Sam Cane and Carl Axtens, played Waikato under-21 last year, but has moved back to the Bay this season.
The weekend's match was his first appearance in the Baywide competition.
Tauranga Sports had the biggest win of the competition so far, humbling Te Puna 87-10.
Three players - wings John Stewart and Byron McGuigan and halfback Lewis Hancock - scored three tries each, with Hancock and first-five Nick Evemy bringing up 50 points for the season with their hauls.
Rotoiti's slide continued with a 15-10 loss to a fired-up Opotiki, meaning the Eastern Bay side slip into fourth place on the table, while Rotoiti slip to fifth on points differential behind Mount.
Waikite had a chance to snatch a win over Whakatane Marist but a late penalty shot went wide, leaving the game tied at 22-22.
In division one Marist St Michaels edged Greerton Marist 7-3, while Katikati and Paroa fought out an 8-all draw.
Te Puke Sports and Te Puna won their Colts matches in the Blue section, setting up an important clash of the two unbeaten Western Bay sides this weekend.
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