Fans' roar to spur Swords

It is fitting the Northern Swords will make their New Zealand Rugby League national competition debut against Counties-Manukau at Kaikohe's Lindvart Park - the home of the triumphant Lions.
The Kaikohe Lions are still on a high after trumping Hikurangi in Whangarei City and Districts Rugby League grand final last weekend at Jubilee Park, taking out the premiership for the first time.
After strong performances in the play-offs and final, Kaikohe stand-off Anthony Clyde and winger Jeziah Neho were given a late call-up by Swords premier coach Revell Neal to complete the 24-man squad.
"Anthony was called into the squad at short notice as we are a bit short on halves," Neal said. "He got two hat-tricks in two weeks and is looking good ... I think our structure should suit him.
"Jeziah came and trained on Tuesday night and did the 12-minute run test - his fitness levels are very good."
The Swords have been training for the past month, with the committed squad noticeably improving their fitness levels, the coach said.
Despite having Iki Payne (knee), Hunia Kingi (hamstring), Herewini Edmunds (knee) and Teme Henare (shoulder) out injured for the Swords' first game of the national competition tomorrow, Neal said he had a young but quality side waiting to take on Counties-Manukau.
"It is crucial we start off this competition with a win as you have to be in the top two to make the final ... our biggest strength is that no one knows us.
"We are solid up front, we have good ball-playing second-rowers and our halves are clever."
With Counties-Manukau's first round match against Auckland postponed last weekend to accommodate the Fox Memorial final, the Northern outfit had little to go on about Counties heading into the clash, except that they would make tough opponents.
"With Otahuhu winning the Fox Memorial (beating Mount Albert) and Howick also doing well this season, we know they will have some talent," Neal said. "There are eight players from that Otahuhu side and eight from Howick ... we will be hoping for fine weather tomorrow, and taking Counties up to Kaikohe is a good thing as it is a fair way to travel and I think a vocal crowd may help to psyche them out a bit."
While the inaugural competition kicked off last weekend, the Swords had a bye.
The Swords head into camp this afternoon to prepare for tomorrow's game, which kicks off at 3pm at Lindvart Park in Kaikohe.
Meanwhile, the 15s and 17s also get their first shot at their national competitions tomorrow, up against Counties-Manukau ahead of the premiers game.
The 15s match starts at 12.25pm and the 17s match gets under way at 1.40pm. Entry is $3 for adults and free entry for children under 15.
Northern Swords Premiers: 1 Jordan Rau, 2 Allen Tripp, 3 Anaru Thompson (c), 4 William Waa, 5 Innocent Tuimavave-Mau, 6 Kyle Hool, 7 Alex Wiki, 8 Para Murray, 9 Tane Ravlick, 10 Wiki Record, 11 Arron Ferguson, 12 Tumai Kepa, 13 Koro Manawaiti. Interchange: 14 Isaia Turuva, 15 Logan Pocklington, 16 William Wiki, 17 Josh Poasa.
Counties-Manukau Premiers: 1 James Blackwell, 2 Steven Waetford, 3 Henry Heta, 4 Mark Lemalu, 5 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 6 Jason Tavita, 7 Aaron Woodhouse, 8 Tony Tuia, 9 Darin Kingi, 10 Beau King, 11 Roman Hifo, 12 Aidan Howard, 13 Willie Heta (c). Interchange: 14 Alfred Williams, 15 Shaun Clark, 16 Trident Pamatangi, 17 David Mu.