Northern Storm's Bartercard Cup woes continued with a 24-44 defeat at the hands of the Waicoa Bay Stallions, with former Moerewa player Peter Prime doing much of the damage in a physical encounter yesterday at Hamilton.
At halftime, with the visitors trailing 6-12, it was anyone's game but Prime scored two
tries early in the second half to allow the home side to pull away from the Storm. Storm finished the game the better of the two sides but the damage was done in the third quarter and their late rally finished a long way off the points.
Storm captain Conrad King, moved into the halves to compensate for absences, scored a great solo try. Although the Storm battled well, their execution sometimes let them down.
Kaikohe Lions suffered their third defeat in a row in the Whangarei and districts competition on Saturday, losing 16-28 to the visiting Marist Brothers.
Marist turned up with a very strong side, containing a handful of Bartercard players including their most recent signings - former Kaikohe players Woody Maihi and Cruize Neho, who missed yesterday's Storm match as a result.
Kaikohe failed to take advantage of a strong wind in the first half and the two teams were level 10-10 at the break. Marist were better in the second spell and took advantage of some ill-discipline to make easy metres through penalties.
Forwards Doug Makiri and James Harris got the team going forward while their backs finished off the job, with centre Simon Latu scoring two tries. Winger Jeremy Edwards also deserved a mention for pulling off a couple of try-saving tackles when Kaikohe threatened to get back into the game.
The game wasn't played in the best of spirits, with the two former Kaikohe players often the target of unwanted attention from some of their old teammates and, when a fight broke out in the final moments, the referee sent all the players in for an early shower.
In the other match played on Saturday, Hikurangi Stags proved they are capable of a shot at the title by overwhelming Moerewa Tigers 52-26 at Tikipunga. The win moves Hikurangi into fourth place on the competition table, one place above Moerewa.
