Ngongotaha winger Pita Lomani-Madanawa crosses over for a try under pressure from Pikiao fullback Quentin Ryan. Photo / Stephen Parker
Ngongotaha winger Pita Lomani-Madanawa crosses over for a try under pressure from Pikiao fullback Quentin Ryan. Photo / Stephen Parker
Ngongotaha have notched up their second consecutive win in the Bay of Plenty/Coastline Premier competition, while Pikiao's woes continue.
The two sides met at Puketawhero Park yesterdayand it was Ngongotaha who claimed local bragging rights with a 34-20 win.
Ngongotaha put Pikiao under pressure from the get-go, forcing two consecutive drop-outs. It is not often you see a prop taking a drop-out, but big Rikihana Terangi, who is captaining Pikiao this year, stepped up and sent a booming 60m kick down field which Ngongotaha failed to handle, giving Pikiao their first attacking opportunity.
Pikiao made Ngongotaha pay for the error with a neatly worked inside ball on the right-hand side, sending Lorne Green over for the first try.
Ngongotaha hit back almost immediately as one of their forwards crashed over from close range. After 10 minutes of play the score was locked at 6-all.
After 20 minutes Ngongotaha started to put the foot down. Fullback James Redstone scored a try on the back of a rampaging run from forward Fetaimauso Pelesasa. From the resulting kick-off Ngongotaha worked their way out to halfway before putting a kick down the right. Winger Pita Lomani-Madanawa was able to get his foot to the ball before re gathering and diving over the try line.
Ngongotaha added another try through centre Joshua Albert before Pikiao scored their second to give themselves a chance of a comeback, trailing 18-10 at halftime.
Ngongotaha rugby league players celebrate a try against Pikiao. Photo / Stephen Parker
Ngongotaha came out firing in the second half, their big forward pack making good metres up the middle. After consecutive penalties inside the Pikiao 20m they worked a neat set play to send Albert through for his second and a 22-10 lead.
With 20 minutes left to play, Pelesasa was rewarded for a standout match with a try of his own to extend the lead to 28-10.
Dayharn Haimona scored a try with a show of brute strength before Green added his second to make it 28-20, but with five minutes left to play Ngongotaha scored again to seal the 34-20 victory.
Ngongotaha coach Paul Nahu said his side drew inspiration from the performance of the Warriors against the Dragons in the NRL the night before.
"We're not comparing ourselves to them, but in the face of adversity they showed courage and we talked about that.
"It was a bit messy but I thought the boys were pretty courageous, I'm proud of their efforts in that sense. I thought we defended well, we've still got to work on some of our attacking phases," Nahu said.
He said his message at halftime was to "keep it simple".
"We were getting a lot of advantage and gains through the middle, we've got a pretty big pack so we roll through there quite nicely."
Pikiao coach Jason Parata said it was starting to feel like a long season, with a side ravaged by injuries, but he was pleased with the amount of effort the players on the field were putting in.
"The effort is there, nothing seems to be going right, but the effort was a lot better. They're running harder and they're not shying away from it," Parata said.
He said the few players who were in the side last year were doing their best to lead from the front, in particular Terangi who had taken his game to another level since being named captain.
