Due to the Matariki holiday, two of the premier grade club games were played on Thursday night.
The Eastern Northern Barbarians beat Marist 45-5 under the lights at Miller St.
Marist coach Derek Manson said his team did not fire a shot in the first half.
"We were a bit flat and they put four tries on us", Manson said.
"We played much better in the second half. Once the boys chanced their arm, they played some nice footy."
Openside Bradley Ray was Marist’s best, while props Tevita Pole and Hamdahn Tuipulotu put in big shifts.
Manson said Marist’s best performer this year was No 8 Jackson Bevin, while blindside James Edwin-Raimona improved each week in his first year of premier grade rugby.
"He is one for the future and lock Hunter Areaiiti-Burgess is still young; he can do some freakish things in the lineouts with his big wing-span."
Manson said they were disappointed not to qualify for the semifinals.
"We beat Woodlands twice and most of our performances were better than the scorelines sometimes read.
"This was a rebuild year and everybody is set to return next season. We enjoyed the footy; our spirits were high right through to this last weekend."
Blues and Woodlands played under lights at Les George Oval.
Woodlands rolled out a strong squad and won the game 49-19.
Blues Coach Fili Tagicakibau said his team was full of energy and put up a good fight.
"A few crucial decisions didn’t go our way and we chose a few wrong options that cost us points", Tagicakibau said.
Blues hooker Tupou Kaufononga was dynamic and big try-scoring lock Jaye Naqianivalu was a handful with his ball-running. Halfback Oscar Kaufononga played his usual high-tempo game and defended well.
Tagicakibau said Oscar could play anywhere in the backline and would go well in the Stags squad, and he liked the look of Woodlands’ young blindside Justin Shaw.
"Southland needs to hold on to that boy. He’s got the X-factor."
Blues struggled through their 150th year after losing a host of top players in the preseason.
Stags halfback Jay Renton and wing Michael Manson left for the United States, and loose forward Billy Andrew and lock Albert Qoro broke limbs.
Former Galbraith Shield-winning Blues coaches Tagicakibau and Mark Crosbie are stepping aside next season to help the club in other ways.
Star beat Pirates Old Boys 62-8 at Oreti Park on Saturday to finish the round-robin phase of the competition.
Although Pirates were without some key players and had a bad run of injuries during the game, this was still a concerning performance from the champions.
— John Langford
