Hurley hits the ton

Carterton first-five Jono Hurley brought up his 100th point for the season when his team beat Eketahuna 51-25 in their Wairarapa-Bush senior first division rugby match at Eketahuna on Saturday.
Hurley went into that particular game with his points tally on 82 and the 18 he contributed to the latest victory four penalties and three conversions took him to three figures.
The accuracy of the Hurley boot has played a big part in Carterton's resurgence since they lost two of their first three games.
He has kicked 18 penalties, 15 conversions and two dropped goals as well as scoring two tries as Carterton have stretched their match winning sequence to seven .
Hurley readily concedes that consistency has not always been a feature of his goal kicking and he is unsure of why he has performed so well in that role this season.
There have been no changes in technique or any extra practise sessions and all he can put it down to is having less pressure on him because his team is performing so well.
"It's easier to relax when the goal kicking isn't life or death," he said. "And when you are relaxed you are always likely to kick better."
Hurley is also starting to enjoy the experience of playing at first-five rather than his usual position of fullback, a change prompted by his father Steve, who just happens to be the Carterton coach.
Fullback is still his preferred position because of the opportunities it allows for the counter attack but he says he is coming to terms with the requirements of first-five, especially in a tactical sense. "It does require different skills to fullback and I've still got a lot to learn," he said. "But when you have so many good players around you like I do it's easier to get by."
Rugby is, of course, not the only sport at which the 22-year-old Hurley is excelling. He coaches tennis on a professional basis in Wellington during the summer months and has represented the capital at inter-provincial level. He plays for the Maungaraki club in the Wellington premier men's league.
For the last couple of years Hurley has also has been a key member of the Wairarapa senior team, helping them to their first ever undefeated record in the 2007-08 season and he has coached here too. In fact, he still provides tuition to about half a dozen promising juniors in Masterton each Sunday during the winter.