Rockwood trophy in safe hands
After an exhilarating weekend at Tokoroa Memorial Sportsground, Putaruru- Tirau have done it again.
Last weekend 14 teams, from as far south as Whanganui and as far north as Dairy Flat, Auckland, competed at the national polocrosse club championships for the ‘‘Roke’’ and ‘‘Rockwood’’ trophies.
Polocrosse, also known as the king of the one-horse sports, is a mixture of polo, lacrosse and netball.
Six players in two smaller teams of three, called ‘‘chukkas’’, take turns on the field to compete against another team of six.
The winners are the team who score the most goals at the end of the match. The Roke and Rockwood trophies are won with knockout games, until two teams come together in the final.
Putaruru-tirau 2 beat Te Mata in the final to win the Rockwood trophy with a score of 31- 13, taking the trophy for the third consecutive year.
Best number one (goal scorer) went to Lauren Tye of Tirau, best number two (mid-fielder) went to her uncle Steve Tye also of Tirau and best number three (defender) went to Lawrence Tye also of Tirau – grandfather and father of his two team- mates, a prime example of how anyone of any age or sex can compete on an even keel at this sport. Best pony went to Jason White of Auckland and his pony Whitney.
The Kaitieke club from Taumarunui, challenged the current trophy holders Putaruru-tirau 1 for the Roke trophy.
The game was very close with Putaruru-tirau 1 leading up until the second-to-last chukka where Kaitieke pulled ahead, however, in the last six minutes PutaruruTirau fought hard to regain their lead and take the trophy for the ninth consecutive year.
Tony Schraft of Piopio took the prize for best number one, best number two went to Dwayne Mckay of Hastings and best number three went to Steve Watson of Tirau who were all on the same team. Steve Watson’s horse Benji won best pony of the competition and Tony Schraft and his horse Sonny Bill won the Denny Thompson award for the best rider and horse combination.
The Putaruru-tirau Polocrosse Club would like to thank all local sponsors for their assistance and Tokoroa Memorial Sportsground committee for the fantastic grounds and facilities.
Without these organisations successful weekends like this would not be possible.