Eels slip into semis
Poneke loose forward combination. In the backs Michael Lealava played well at centre.
‘‘He was deadly with the ball in hand. He and Isaiah Mamea were the pick in the backs. The old heads with experience knew how to do the job.’’
Wilson says all four teams left are very even and it will come down to who plays well on the day. The green and blacks will be without two of their better backs -Marvin Karawana and Josh Robertson-Weepu with knee injuries- but otherwise will be at full strength.
Like all coaches Wilson is playing the under-dog tag. ’’Tawa will go in as favourites. They have has four wins in a row and are playing at home. We have nothing to lose and will throw the proverbial kitchen sink at them.’’ Two clinical displays from Te Aroha Eels within the space of four days effectively ended the University Hunters semifinal chances in Wellington premier rugby league.
With a catch-up game required between the sides, the Eels dashed the Hunters’ top-four playoff hopes with 52-12 and 26-4 wins on Wednesday night and Saturday afternoon.
The calculation was simple for the Hunters. They needed wins in both the catchup midweek fixture and the weekend round 17 match, and hope that the fourth-placed Wainuiomata Lions would go down to the unbeaten Whiti Te Ra. Part of their wish was realised when the Lions succumbed to the competition leaders at Otaki Domain, but the crucial wins proved elusive.
On Wednesday at Porirua Park some quality play out wide resulted in a hat trick of tries by the Te Aroha halfback Mohi Aupouri and fullback Michael Strickland to ensure the Eels finished on top. On Saturday, it was a different story after the Eels opted to rest three key players, including Aupouri, and then came up against a fired-up University side who restricted them to a 14-0 halftime lead.
Te Aroha added 12 more points, while University’s only scoring came when fullback Nathan Te Pania went over just before the final quarter.
The Randwick Kingfishers ran in five tries to beat the Petone Panthers 28-12 at McEwan Park after leading 12-10 at halftime.