Crucial points in the Banks for Reefton
Reefton bank crucial win
The return of Marty Banks to Reefton highlighted the action in the Westreef Services senior competition on the weekend. The Highlander’s pivot was instrumental in the thrilling come back win for his beloved Reefton club after White Star looked as though they had done enough to spoil the party. In Westport, Old Boys were not able to stop the Westport juggernaut from rolling, as the bumblebees stung the birds in a comprehensive victory.
Reefton 24-21 White Star
Reefton left their run late at the Rosco Contractors grounds in Reefton, with a buzzer beating try to birthday boy Bevan Thomson enough to claim a thrilling win for the Rangers.
Reefton easily produced their best team of the competition with the return of Marty Banks, former NZ Heartland rep Kevin Moore and former Buller age grade player Luke McKenzie in the starting line-up.
All the pre-match hype didn’t phase the White Star side early in game as they opened the scoring inside the first 5 minutes as flanker Taine Brownlee scored off a rolling maul to give the visitors an early 5-0 lead.
Reefton were showing a great desire to move the ball at every chance and were gaining plenty of metres in the process. They were guilty of pushing too many passes, with handling errors inside White Star territory frustrating them. They did manage to level the scores on the twenty-minute mark as Banks put in a pinpoint cross kick to hit winger Moore on the chest who beat two defenders and provided a lovely inside ball to Luke Barrow who finished off an impressive team try.
White Star were getting their gains off the back of some ill-discipline from Reefton who were conceding penalties at the ruck. They also found plenty of metres through both Anthony Ellis and Iliesa Tora who were enjoying running with the ball. White Star kicker Dan Benny kicked the first of his penalty goals after 25 minutes to give White Star an 8-5 lead.
That lead was further strengthened on the stroke of halftime as impressive loose forward Taine Brownlee picked up a first half brace of tries. Benny’s conversion gave White Star a 15-5 lead much to the disappointment of the local crowd who were on hand in their masses.
After the break, White Star continued to do a good job of repelling the Reefton attack. Their defense was led well by loose forwards Brownlee, Dylan Rusbatch and Finn Forsyth. Benny added another penalty shortly after the break to open up an 18-5 lead.
Reefton needed to be next to score and they were able to do so when McKenzie showed some excellent skills to stretch out and dot the ball down on the whitewash. Thor Manawatu was able to knock the conversion over to close the gap to 18-12 with 25 minutes remaining.
The final quarter of the match saw a big lift in intensity from both sides. The injection of Thompson for Reefton gave the home side a boost. Just last week, Thompson had broken his hand, but nothing was going to stop him from donning the Reefton colours this weekend with his 40th birthday celebrations to follow. Benny’s third penalty of the afternoon gave White Star a 21-12 lead with 12 minutes remaining and time starting to be an issue for the home side.
Banks became extremely influential in the closing 10 minutes, demanding the ball and playing the game with plenty of width, looking to stretch the White Star defense. With just two minutes remaining, he crossed the line himself to bring them within touching distance at 21-17 down.
From the resulting kick-off, Reefton controlled the ball and again went side to side, looking to find any gap in the resolute White Star defence. In the end, they went the full field to break the hearts of White Star as birthday boy Thompson, broken hand and all, dived over out wide to score much to the jubilation of the Reefton crowd. Manawatu added the icing with a superb strike from the touchline to close the scoring at 24-21 to Reefton.
White Star will naturally be disappointed with the end result but they can certainly hold their heads high for such a spirited performance. Of note for the club, it was brilliant to see club legend Luke Brownlee take the field with his two eldest boys, Taine and Kobe.
For Reefton, they will be thrilled with the win on such a special day for their club. The win also propels them to second-equal in the standings with a vital game next weekend to push for a playoff spot.
Referee: Phil Grafton
Westport 53-13
Sunny skies greeted the Westport and Old Boys sides at a glorious Victoria Square on Saturday.
Westport had the better of the possession and territory early in the game, however Old Boys must be commended for their resolute defense in the first 15 minutes. They were able to stop wave after wave of structured attack. It did include some ill-discipline but the same would be said for Westport who would have felt frustrated that they could not get any reward for their early dominance.
It wasn’t until the 18th minute when Tapi Allen barged over for a try in the wide channel to open the scoring for Westport. That lead was reduced just moments later as a simple knock on allowed Old Boys some quality possession and resulted in an easy penalty for Old Boys.
A charged down kick from Old Boys resulted in a break down field for Westport as Miti Kaloudigibeci, Flynn Aldridge and Nathan Palmer combined well to get Westport close to the line. It was that man, Tapi Allen with an outstanding Sonny Bill Williams like off load to a flying Logan Heath who scored a well-constructed try to give Westport a 10-3 lead.
A further penalty to Bailen Larking again closed the gap as Old Boys began to get their fair share of possession. Any momentum they were wrestling back was quickly shut down however as Westport stand-in flyhalf Logan Heath produced a superb individual effort to score to give Westport a 17-6 halftime lead.
Down just 11 points at halftime, the Old Boys management would have been reasonably happy to still be well in the game. Their skipper Ben Pratt and loose forward Cole McBride were playing well for the gulls in both attack and defense. For Westport, Zach Walsh, Kahu Parata and Glen Martin were industrious in the forwards, while Heath was enjoying his day in the sun.
The second half opened in much the same fashion, Westport with possession and just not quite doing enough to score points. They also allowed Old Boys to march down the field on the back of some poor discipline.
It was then Westport who had to defend and they did a stern job until Hendrix Babbington snuck through a ruck to score. The successful conversion had the gap closed to 17-13 and it was game on. Momentum was all with Old Boys as they made some good metres but it was enabled by Westport, whose discipline and decision making continued to plague them.
Westport were able to turn the tide however as they constructed an excellent team try which was finished off in the corner by Allen. This seemed to spur the Bees into life as they began to string together some impressive phases of play.
In the final quarter of the game, Westport began to flex their muscles as firstly Aldridge mopped up a sloppy kick to score and convert his own try. Shortly after, some good play from the bees resulted in Nathan Palmer scoring out wide as the scoreboard continued to tick over.
There was no respite for Old Boys. In the end, Westport were able to run away with the game with a further three tries in the final 10 minutes. The final act being a try to Nico Gugich who scored a try with his first touch of the ball in Westport colours. Final score 53-13.
The Westport side would have been impressed with the last 20 minutes. Stand outs were Tapi Allen, Kahu Parata and Kyle Te Tai who came into his own late in the game. In the backs Logan Heath was outstanding at first five, Caleb Aldridge displayed his best passing of the season and Tok Samuels had an excellent game in the midfield.
Old Boys will take positives out of the game and must approach the next two weeks thinking they are close. Missing a few key cogs and sustaining a few injuries, they still managed to do some good things. Pratt and McBride were their best forwards while Kyle Roberts at hooker put in a big shift. Alex Lean had to shoulder most of the responsibility for the backs and did a good job in trying circumstances at times. Bailen Larking showed versatility and kept working all game at halfback.
That now leaves two crucial games next weekend to decide who will contest the Senior Shield semi-final. Westport have gained automatic entry to the final, however the battle for the semi final spots is wide open.
Referee: Caleb Neilson
Players of the Day:
Westport: Flynn Aldridge and Kyle Te Tai
White Star: Alan Paterson and Dan Benny
Old Boys: Cody Brunner and Cole McBride
Reefton: Enoka Love and Luke Barrow
