LEAGUE - Tigers' Tana bags a triple Moerewa to play in final

Winger Henry Tana was this week's hero for Moerewa Tigers after a second consecutive roller-coaster playoff victory - this time a 36-28 win over Takahiwai at Tikipunga Park - saw them reach next week's grand final.
Tana's hat-trick was a highlight of a tense match which sees Moerewa take their place in the final against favourites Hikurangi next week.
Moerewa's fans would have been hoping for an easier run of it at the weekend after the previous week's nailbiting win over Marist in Kaikohe, in the first weekend of the Whangarei and Districts rugby league playoffs, but there was no let up for them on Saturday.
Neither did the scorers have an easy time of it at the match. The lack of a scoreboard and the fact that people were struggling to keep up as the tries came thick and fast, meant they were approached every couple of minutes for a score update by members of the crowd.
It didn't help that neither side really held a significant advantage over their opponents during the match.
When Tawio Davis scored the final try of the semifinal in the dying minutes of the game, the touchdown allowed Rikki Mackey to kick the side to an eight-point advantage at 36-28 - the largest lead either side could manage during the game.
Takahiwai played with the wind behind them in the first half and by halftime had built up an 18-14 lead that many believed wouldn't be enough to give them a win and they were proved right in the end.
The Ruakaka team looked pretty good on attack and scored good tries to Hori Tuhoro, Galvin Brewer and Anthony Clyde. Unfortunately their defence was suspect at times and they were twice exposed by poor marking around the ruck and by Moerewa's ability to find space on the wing.
Taami Proctor, Davis and Henry Tana were the first-half scorers for Moerewa but when Damien Murray scored for Takahiwai almost 10 minutes into the second spell they sensed a win.
The try was earned on the back of some good defence by Takahiwai. Big hits rattled the Moerewa go-forward and they turned the ball over without getting to their kick on successive sets.
Moerewa were on the rack but they held on and it was Tana, once again, who scored the next try to again narrow Takahiwai's lead to four.
The tension boiled over and referee Len Phillips sought to get on top of things. Jamie Erceg was sinbinned for a very amateur attempt at innocence trying to slow down a Moerewa play-the-ball and a minute later Denis Davis joined him on the sideline for a raised elbow that might have been a bit unlucky as he was rubbing his wrist as he walked off.
Nevertheless, the game continued at pace, leading to Moerewa scoring the try of the match. They spread the ball wide to Hohepa Riwhi who managed to stay upright in a strong tackle before offloading. There was further neat interpassing down the flank to beat the cover before the ever-present Tana claimed his hat-trick.
Moerewa hit the lead for the second time in the match but it was shortlived as Kyle Hool found a gap close to the line to once again give Takahiwai a two point lead at 28-26. Then Jacob Pitman-Smith claimed a try after Moerewa had tried to pass their way out of trouble in their in-goal area. Takahiwai's supporters went wild but after consultation with the touch judge the referee did not award the try.
The momentum swung back to Moerewa with a Takahiwai error in their red zone. Chic Prime capitalised by scoring a soft try from the scrum to regain the lead with seven minutes left. Takahiwai had to take risks to regain the lead but they had no luck and were punished further with the final Tawio Davis try.