Excelsior retained second place in the Citizens Shield points table when for the third time this season it defeated Old Boys, 27-26.
Old Boys will be saying ``not again'', as last weekend it lost to Maheno by an identical score. The game was Old Boys' to lose, as 10 minutes into the second half it was leading 26-0, but Excelsior lifted its defence and, right on fulltime, Excelsior halfback Tarn Crow slotted a winning penalty.
Valley went on an eight-try scoring spree out at Weston Park to repel Kurow's challenge and, with one qualifying round before the semifinals and finals has a 10-point lead over Excelsior, which is 10 points ahead of Old Boys.
A point behind is fourth-placed Maheno, which won by default over Athletic Marist, its third default this season.
Old Boys took the game to Excelsior in the first half as No8 Sami Tongotongo and locks Paea Ala and Sale Pi'i scoring tries, two of which were converted by Suli Tuivailala to give Old Boys a 19-0 halftime lead.
Tongotongo went in for his second try and Tuivailala's conversion took Old Boys out to a 26-0 lead.
The rest of the half was dominated by Excelsior, which showed inspired defence as it gradually cut back Old Boys' lead.
It all started in the 63rd minute, when strong running centre Antonio Misiloi burst over for Tarn Crow to convert. Tries to wingers PJ Tili and James Pillay took Excelsior within seven points of Old Boys. Four minutes from fulltime, Misiloi gathered a loose ball to send first five-eighth Tom Moysey racing over to narrow the gap to a couple of points.
In a tense four minutes, Crow had three penalty attempts. The first two failed but the third in injury time went between the posts to give Excelsior a deserved victory.
Valley marched imperiously towards the Citizens Shield final when it defeated Kurow, 45-19 at Weston Park, pulling away in the second half after leading 19-12 at halftime.
Valley dominated the third quarter. Valley lock Blake Welsh touched down in the fifth minute and 15 minutes later, Valley first five-eighth Brad McKenzie, after converting Welsh's try, crossed for a try in the 20th minute and his conversion gave Valley a 14-0 lead.
Kurow lifted its game up front and loosehead prop Lototonga Malafu scored for Sam McDonald to convert.
The second half of the first spell was even and seven minutes from halftime left wing Sam Fleming's try narrowed the gap to 19-12.
Valley took control in the final 40 minutes. Loosehead prop Logan Dunlop made it 19-12 10 minutes into the second half. Then Valley midfielder Howard Packman upped the scoring with an unconverted try and in the final quarter, Valley replacement forward James Graham scored for Valley centre Mark Roney to convert.
Kurow refused to give in and Malafu crossed for his second converted try to make it 31-19 before Valley finished strongly with tries to Graham and Packman. Roney and Packman added conversions.
Netball
Kurow A went down to Valley Gold by 45-28. Valley Gold led 15-7 after the first quarter and 26-12 at halftime, extending this to 38-17 at three-quarter time before Kurow rallied to take the final quarter 11-7. Although Valley Gold was dominant, there were a few regular players absent on Saturday. Taieri Grant, up from Valley Silver, combined well with Rihi Schultz in the shooting circle. Celia Kampen, also up from Silver, had a strong game at wing attack and wing defence.
For Kurow, Deahna Shearer had a strong game at centre, picking up some great intercepts and driving well through the court in attack, while Rochelle Harris-Hunt put in a strong performance at goal attack/goal shoot.
Maheno never looked threatened by a disconnected Athletic team and eased home 42-19.
Maheno capitalised on its early lead 10-3, 21-9 and 31-13 before mixing up its combinations. Its defensive team unit allowed it to notch up any points coming their way.
With both teams looking to bounce back from last week's disappointment and with the return of some injured players for restricted minutes, it came down to a matter of which team could keep its unforced error count down.
Both WGHS Wildfire and Lightning Strike showed outstanding flair and creativity but Lightning Strike was more clinical, lessons learned from last week's game against Maheno showing up.
This enabled it to make Wildfire pay for any slight errors. Trailing 12-19 at halftime, Wildfire introduced two year 9 pupils into the game at halftime. These players did not look out of place in the top league, showing the depth in the Waitaki Girls' ranks.
Best for Lightning Strike was Losa Fifita (goal shoot), who had an outstanding game, while Holly Beazer (goal defence) had her best game of the season.
Standing out for Wildfire was Brylee Milmine (goal attack) and captain Kira Mortimer had another strong showing at goal defence.
Lightning Strike took the game after leading all the way, 11-6, 19-12, 31-22 and 40-32.
Valley Silver picked up its first points of the season with a default win over St Kevin's A, due to the St Kevin's formal.
- Terry O'Neill