Waikato make quarter finals
Picksters:
Heading into the quarter finals of the 2022 Bunnings Warehouse NPC, Picksters Nic & Me have grabbed the top spot back off McDonald's Te Awamutu after playing their joker (double points).
McDonald's Te Awamutu sit in second place on the Picksters table.
Power Chill, HTSL Diesel Mechanical and NZME are third equal after a stong round of picks.
PGG Wrightson rounds off the Picksters and were the only team to get every guess correct this round, legendary!
With only the finals left to play, the Picksters competition could still be anyone's as all players are within eight points of each other.
Picksters: You have one joker to play anytime during the competition and if we don't get your picks on time, we'll select the home teams on your behalf! Report:
Waikato have ended a two game losing streak with a late come-from-behind win to beat Bay of Plenty Steamers 35-34 to book themselves a home quarter-final in the Bunnings NPC.
The Steamers took control of the game early and jumped out to a 10-point lead after 10 minutes with Kaleb Trask successful with a penalty before their halfback Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi crossed for the first try of the afternoon.
Waikato scored their first try through prop Sefo Kautai when
he busted his way over the line to score near the posts. Damian McKenzie added the extras and Waikato reduced bay of Plenty's lead to just three points.
Midway through the first half Waikato took the lead 14-10 when Laghlan McWhannell was put into space to score the second try of the match. McKenzie was again successful with the conversion.
However, the visitors took back the lead when they crossed via Kurt Eklund and Leroy Carter. Trask was successful with one out of two conversions as Bay of Plenty went into the break with a 22-14 lead.
In the second half two quick tries by Carter and Joey Walton plus Trask successfully converting one of the tries saw the Steamers' lead extended to 20 points with 30 minutes to play.
But in the final 20, Waikato finally seemed to click and things started going their way.
Liam Coombes-Fabling started the fight back when he crossed for Waikato's third try. McKenzie added the extras and Waikato then trailed 34-21 with 16 minutes left on the clock.
With six minutes left, Luke Jacobson took it off the back of a scrum and smashed his way over to score, McKenzie was again successful with the conversion and Waikato were within a converted try of taking an unlikely win.
Waikato were awarded a penalty with three minutes remaining and opted for the lineout close to the Bay of Plenty line.
The ball was slapped back onto the Steamers' side but a quick reaction from Waikato loose forward Patrick McCurran saw him regather the ball and score for Waikato to set up McKenzie with the go-ahead conversion.
McKenzie was again successful with the conversion as Waikato came back to steal the victory at the death and set up a rematch back at FMG Stadium Waikato this Sunday against Bay of Plenty.
The team also wore pink socks for the ‘Pink Sock' initiative which saw teams raise awareness for the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ.
You can help by texting ‘PINK' to 2447 to donate $3.
Waikato NPC 35 (Sefo Kautai, Laghlan McWhannell, Liam Coombes-Fabling, Luke Jacobson, Patrick McCurran tries, Damian McKenzie 5 conversions)
Bay of Plenty Steamers 34 (Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, Kurt Eklund, Leroy Carter 2, Joey Walton tries; Kaleb Trask 3 conversion, 1 penalty)