Valley avenged their early season defeat with a 26-21 win over Excelsior in Weston.
Scores were tied at 21-all with less than five minutes to play and Valley were hot on attack inside the Blues’ 22m.
They won a penalty and turned down the shot at goal to kick for the corner.
From the ensuing maul, first five Isaac Clunie darted down the blindside and passed to replacement winger Foreqe Tavai jun who gave it back to his No 10 who scored the match-winner.
Earlier, it was Blues who struck first.
They absorbed a lot of early pressure from Valley and finally got to play at the right end of the park.
Off a turnover, Valley halfback Glenn Sturgess took off down the blindside in his own 22 but when he tried to fire it back inside to his support, Josh Phipps nabbed the intercept and had the speed to score.
Tries to Jake Greenslade and Matt Vocea in quick succession enabled Valley to take the lead heading into halftime.
As Citizens Shield followers have become accustomed to this season, Blues turned up the heat in the second half.
Barnstorming No 8 Samu Babiau bagged a double to give them a seven-point lead heading into the final quarter. .
The home side were able to claw their way back with two tries off the efforts of their forwards.
The win could prove vital in Valley’s season as they now move back into second place on the ladder.
Valley captain Cameron Rowland was instrumental and Sam Sturgess got through plenty of work as well.
Clunie controlled the game nicely from first five.
In Kurow, the Red Devils have done it again.
For the third straight week, they were trailing as the clock ticked over 80 minutes and for the third straight week, they walked away with a win.
A Ben Nowell penalty kick enabled them to snatch a 38-36 win over Athletic Marist.
It was extra sweet for them to beat the side coached by former Kurow head coach Tim Anderson.
In the final game of the round, Old Boys ran in eight tries against Maheno in a big win.
After a tight first half after which they led 19-12, the floodgates opened in the second 40.
A tally of 33 second-half points put the result beyond doubt.
Maheno were able to run in a late consolation try to Forrest Beer but that did little to affect the 52-17 scoreline.
The win puts Old Boys squarely in contention for the semifinals if they can finish the season strongly.
