Home support for Makos coaches

‘‘Go Makos!’’ That was the rallying cry for the daughters of Tasman coaches Leon MacDonald and Greg Somerville.

The Tasman Makos’ coaches can rest easier knowing their biggest cheer will come from Blenheim.

Eden and Rylah Somerville joined Ruby MacDonald to wish their dads the best in the highlyanticipated final against Canterbury on Saturday.

All three were hopeful the Makos would take it out against the red and blacks.

Ruby MacDonald said she won’t be heading to Christchurch for the game but would watch it with her grandparents.

The three girls were born in three different places but their loyalty remained with their dads.

‘‘My mum’s going down to watch it so I’ll be watching with my grandparents,’’ Ruby said.

The children were confident in the work their dads had put into the team, saying their hard work would pay off.

‘‘I think they’re going to win because dad has been working with them,’’ Ruby said.

However, there was some discussion between the Somerville sisters on who might win.

‘‘Eden told me that the other team was better than the Makos,’’ Rylah said.

With Eden’s rugby knowledge, she said both teams were good.

But Eden believed that with their dad’s hard work, the Makos would take it out.

‘‘I think they’re going to win because they’ve been practising a lot,’’ Eden said.

With the daughters putting in the effort to cheer on the Makos themselves, they also gathered more supporters from their school peers who shouted ‘‘Go Makos!’’.

Tasman were in their third Mitre 10 Cup Premiership final in four years following their win over Taranaki.

The Makos play Canterbury for the second successive Mitre 10 Cup final in Christchurch on Saturday and this time the team hopes to overcome the red and blacks.

Stabbing accused in custody

AMarlborough man charged with breaking into an Islington house and stabbing a man will be kept in custody until his mental health is assessed. The 26-year-old, who cannot be named, was arrested at a Lane St property, in Blenheim, about 1.30am on Monday. He was kept in police custody overnight before appearing at the Blenheim District Court on Tuesday. He faces a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and a charge of aggravated burglary, using a kitchen knife. Judge Richard Russell refused bail and ordered a psychiatric assessment. He remanded the man in custody to November 6, and granted interim name suppression. The man who was stabbed, a 24-year-old Blenheim man, was taken to Wellington Hospital, where he was in a serious but stable condition on Monday. He and the defendant knew each other, police said.

Assault on a child

Aman recently paroled from prison after months of assaulting his partner and her children has allegedly assaulted a 3-year-old. Marlborough man Nga Hau E Wha Maru, 23, is charged with assaulting a child on Friday, and possession of cannabis. Maru was sentenced to two years and one month in prison in September 2015 for abusing his partner and her three young children over seven months. He was released on parole in March with conditions preventing him from associating with children under the age of 16, but was spotted driving in Blenheim with a 3-year-old in the passenger seat in September and charged with breaching parole. He was on bail awaiting sentencing when he was charged with assaulting a child. Maru did not enter pleas at the Blenheim District Court on Monday, and was remanded in custody to October 31.

Incident at McDonalds

A receptionist has assaulted a man after nearly running him over at a McDonalds car park. Beau Kahn Harlem Morgan, 20, was leaving the McDonalds Blenheim drive-through about 9am on September 19 when he drove into the path of a man pushing a trolley. After narrowly missing the man, Morgan got out and the pair argued about Morgan’s speed, before Morgan pushed the man to the ground and drove away. The man was not hurt. When spoken to by police, Morgan said he did not know the speed limit was 10kmh, but admitted pushing the man. Morgan admitted assault at the Blenheim District Court on Monday but did not enter a plea to the charge of careless driving. He was remanded at large to November 27.

Fined for drink-driving

Aman working on quake-damaged State Highway 1 has been caught drink-driving for the fifth time. Michael David Reid, 49, was stopped by police on Main St in Blenheim on September 21. He gave a breath test result of 895 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 250mcg. He admitted a charge of drink-driving and appeared for sentencing at the Blenheim District Court on Monday. His lawyer Rob Harrison said his most recent drinkdriving conviction was in 2012 but the rest were from the 1990s.

Community work and home detention were unsuitable because Reid worked 70-hour weeks on the highway north of Kaiko¯ura. Judge Richard Russell convicted Reid and fined him $2500, to be paid at $100 per week. He also sentenced him to six months’ supervision with a condition to do alcohol and drug counselling, and disqualified him from driving for 15 months.