CLUB RUGBY: Top four premier teams all prove unstoppable

The top four teams in Northland's Southern Districts premier grade rugby competition - Mid Western, Hora Hora, Mid Northern and Kamo - can't be overtaken with only one more round-robin match to play.
All four had wins on Saturday when Mid Western dispatched Hikurangi 38-5, Hora Hora beat Old Boys 39-15, Mid Northern trounced Wellsford 57-nil and Kamo beat Western Sharks 30-17.
In the fifth game of the competition's 17th round, Marist jumped to fifth position on the points table when it beat Otamatea 29-10.
Marist coach Donny Stevenson missed the match because he was attending a wedding at Kerikeri, but he was delighted to hear his team had a victory because he had been "a bit worried" by Otamatea having had two wins in a row and angling for a third.
He said Marist was playing Hora Hora as the curtain-raiser for the Northland versus Taranaki ITM Cup game at Whangarei's Toll Stadium on Wednesday.
Mid Western and Old Boys will also try out the Toll Stadium turf when they play the curtain-raiser for the Northland-Otago clash next Saturday.
In the other matches to end the round-robin series next Saturday, Kamo will play Hikurangi at Kamo, Otamatea face Mid Northern at Kaiwaka and Wellsford play Western Sharks at Wellsford. The rain held off in the first half of the Mid Western game against Hikurangi at Maungakaramea and despite the home team's forward dominance, Hikurangi still seemed to be in the game at half-time with the score 18-nil against them.
But the heavens opened in the second half and although Hikurangi centre Morris Cooper scored from an intercept - and Henry Foy missed the conversion from in front of the posts - there was never a time when Mid Western didn't look like winners.
No8 Ben Berridge touched down twice for Mid Western, with tries also scored by prop Glyn Hooson-Owen, centre Dan McCully and Logan Cowan. Fullback Luke Muggeridge kicked 13 points, missing only two of the conversions and penalties he attempted.
Hikurangi coach Hector Davies said star player Whiria Meltzer, who had been given the weekend off Northland duties, had been held on the bench for the first half, but hopes of him making a big impact when he played in the second half were dashed by the rain.
Captain and hooker Mike Paniora, flanker Aaron Wright and first-five Troy Rait played well for Hikurangi.
Hora Hora manager Peter Bennett said that by the end of his team's battle with Old Boys in the mud on the Hora Hora ground all the players were the same earthy colour.
Six Hora Hora players scored tries - second five-eight Doc Tuariki, centre Warren Dunn, hooker Alan Nisbet, locks Mark Bennett and Matt Black, and fullback Aaron Baigent. Tuariki handled the kicking.