Marist roars back for win

The return of Aaron Bancroft helped Marist to overcome a horror start to defeat Wellsford 47-39 in a try-fest at Centennial Park.
The win has dented Wellsford's play-off hopes after they had improved to fifth place in recent weeks on the back of three successive wins.
Bancroft led the way as Marist fought their way from a 29-5 deficit - after just 15 minutes - to be in the game at halftime, trailing 19-29.
Marist tried to keep the ball close in the second half and dispense with the set-piece entirely. Without any specialist locks, they avoided lineouts, which led to them tapping the ball and running when presented with a penalty.
The tactic worked well in the end with only six lineouts in the entire match and much to the surprise of injured skipper Cam Eyre, who watched from the sideline, Marist played their best second half of the year to take the game.
"I think we've lost six or seven games this year after leading at halftime, but this time we trailed at the break and ended up winning which is a first I think," he said.
Kurt Wilson's form with the boot also helped. He slotted nine goals from 11 attempts to help Marist overhaul Wellsford's lead.
Mid Northern got out to a 14-3 halftime lead playing into the wind at Hikurangi and then increased the lead to 24-3 but came up short of their bonus point try with a late fightback by the home side.
Otamatea Hawks were pretty pleased to keep fourth-placed Kamo to a 13-36 loss in a physical encounter at Maungaturoto. They are currently twice as good as earlier in the season - if comparisons with their first round results are valid. With the Northland players now leaving club rugby, they are looking forward to claiming a scalp in the rest of their second-round encounters.
Western Sharks came from behind to beat Old Boys 35-20 at Farmlands Park to snap a six-game losing streak and it will give the Dargaville side a morale boost at the business end of the table.
Southern Districts Premier: Hikurangi 10 Mid Northern 24, Hora Hora 27 Mid Western 30, Otamatea 13 Kamo 36, Wellsford 39 Marist 47, Western Sharks 35 Old Boys 20.
Southern Districts Premier Reserve: Hikurangi 17 Mid Northern 22, Hora Hora 39 Mid Western 17, Otamatea 0 Kamo 79, Wellsford 22 Marist 21, Western Sharks 69 Old Boys 10.
Premier Grade Table
P W L D PF PA DiffB Pts
Mid Western 12 11 - 1 477 151 326 9 55
Hora Hora 12 11 1 1 406 157 249 9 51
Mid Nrthrn12 9 3 - 297 246 51 7 43
Kamo 12 7 4 1 342 223 117 8 38
Wellsford12 5 6 1 299 295 -4 9 31
Hikurangi12 4 7 1 305 305 0 8 26
Wstn Sharks12 5 7 - 313 309 44 24
Marist 12 4 7 1 226 276 -50 4 22
Old Boys12 2 10 - 173 365 -191 3 11
Otamatea 12 - 12 - 127 639 525 1