A harbour Hawks win was the highlight of the fifth round of the Otago Rugby League spring competition played at Hancock Park on Saturday.
The Hawks sent out an ominous warning to their rivals with a 40-18 win against Pirates.
The defending champion showed great structure in defence and a ton of confidence in attack in its seven-tries-to-three win that kept it at the top of the table.
The Hawks held a 22-6 lead at halftime. In the second half, Pirates broke the hardened Hawks defence twice but three more tries from the Hawks ensured they were never in danger of being beaten.
The South City Dragonz moved into second place after scoring seven tries to five in a 38-28 win over University.
Dragonz centre Mika Mafi had a storming game, with some fine offloads, hard tackles and a great individual try in the second half.
The Dragonz scored four tries to two and held a 22-12 lead at halftime. That buffer proved the difference as both sides went on to score three second-half tries.
A fight at the end of the game between the South Pacific Raiders and the Kaikorai Silverbacks marred what was an entertaining match.
A Silverbacks player threw a punch and in the ensuring fracas a Raiders player fell to the ground.
The fight looked like it could get out of control until Silverbacks lock Viliami Talalima showed great sportsmanship and leadership, pleading with his players to calm down, and they listened.
An incident report has been lodged with the Otago Rugby League.
The Raiders won the match 32-24, outscoring the Silverbacks six tries to four, after holding a 14-12 lead at halftime.
Better discipline in the second half enabled the Raiders to fight back from 24-20 down with 10 minutes to play.
The bottom-of-the-table clash saw the Kia Toa Tigers edge the South City Dragonz B 26-24.
The Tigers recorded their first win of the competition, outscoring Dragonz B six tries to four after holding a 14-12 lead at halftime.
