LEAGUE - Lions tame the Tigers for spot in grand final

Kaikohe Lions booked a place in this weekend's grand final after overcoming defending champions Moerewa Tigers 18-10 in an intense battle of the big cats at Jubilee Park.
Led by their "little" men, Te Awherangi "Tuffy" Munro and Woody Maihi, the Lions did what they've been unable to do for the past few years convert a playoff spot into a grand final berth.
Faced with rain and a heavy surface, Kaikohe emerged ahead of their Mid-Northern rivals after 80 minutes of enthralling league on Saturday.
True, there was a good deal of spilled ball as both sides chanced their arm with the slippery pill but it did little to detract from the excitement of the semifinal.
Kaikohe had won both encounters with Moerewa this season, but the Tigers' ability to move up a gear for finals is well-known and early on, only some luck and desperate defence kept them from scoring.
Tiger's fullback Sam George, who was involved in many of his side's scoring opportunities, slipped through a gap in the fourth minute but somehow lost the ball when positioning himself to score after evading the fullback's covering tackle.
The Tigers converted the early pressure into points with Rik Mackie landing a penalty, before Kaikohe started to find some rhythm.
"Ball retention was the key for us, getting to the kick and forcing them back in their own territory and trying to pin them there, especially in the muddy areas," said Maihi.
The captain's penalty levelled the scores but a knock-on in the 20m zone gave the Tigers the chance they needed midway through the spell. After probing the right flank, they spun the ball left for Henry Tana score from the overlap to put them 6-2 ahead.
The try boosted Moerewa, who were unlucky not to score again following a cheeky kick from a scrum that almost caught the Lions napping.
The Tigers failed to exploit an advantage when Munro was sinbinned for a high tackle after referee Joe Wharewaka had warned both sides.
Maihi added another penalty to narrow the deficit to two, before taking the lead close to halftime when a perfectly-placed kick from the little halfback allowed Hamuera Tohu to touch down. The conversion gave the Lions a 10-6 lead at the break.
The Tigers had a disastrous start to the second spell with Mackie spilling the ball forward at the kickoff, leading to Bobby Rameka powering over to score.
Maihi worked to increase the lead to 16-6.
Moerewa came back with a roar with another period of domination but the Lions got off their line quickly with some great defence. Munro was again outstanding when limiting the damage. After they were denied a try at the other end, Kaikohe conceded their first points of the half with George finding space out wide to take the score to 16-10 at the three-quarter mark.
Moerewa continued to threaten Kaikohe's lead and minutes later it looked like wing Caleb Tana would have the legs to finish off a long-range Tiger's attack until Maihi cut him down just inches from the line.
With seven minutes to go, Maihi added a penalty to give Kaikohe an eight-point buffer and despite the Tigers' best efforts there was no further score.
"We'll celebrate tonight and then we'll start thinking about next week's final against Takahiwai, the pressure's off the boys until then," Maihi said.
The mainly pro-Kaikohe crowd celebrated while coach Jay Hepi couldn't keep the satisfaction from his face for a job well done.
"Our whole focus this year has been getting to the grand final. We've had the team to get there over the past few years but it all fell into place today," Hepi said.