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Otago Daily Times
19-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Miners Cup up for grabs this afternoon
With Matariki making this a long weekend, the southern region features a rare Friday afternoon spectacle in Kaitangata. The Crescent Coal Miners host Lawrence with the Miners Cup on the line. The top four is such a close contest that Crescent can momentarily jump up to second place for 24 hours with a win. Lawrence will not die wondering and are still due a win, which they have sought admirably all season. West Taieri host Clutha in a top-of-the-table battle at Outram with the Speight's Jug and McIntosh Cup on the line in what will be a war of attrition. Clutha have built an almost unassailable lead at the top of the table but will want to win all the same and keep the Pigs well behind them. Since returning from injury, West Taieri first five Callum Smeaton has been driving the team around the park well and will have a big say in the outcome of this clash. Toko celebrate their club day this weekend with what should be a competitive day of footy. The Toko Axemen host Owaka with the Dean Miller and Reg Phillips memorial trophies on the line. Both sides lost last weekend and will be frothing to right the wrongs of previous matches. Toko will want to be pushing back into home semifinal contention; Owaka will be hoping to get 22 players on the field. Injuries and absences are a real issue. Heriot host Clutha Valley for the Trevor Peters Memorial as both sides make one last effort to finish in the top four. The teams are fifth and sixth respectively with the loser of this match certain of a bottom-four spot. The victor still has a mathematical chance of semifinal footy.
Otago Daily Times
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Banner honours go to unbeaten Clutha Steamers
The Clutha Steamers solidified their position at the top of the Southern Region premier competition on Saturday with a 28-17 win over Toko to remain unbeaten and lock away the South Otago banner and Springbok Horns for the season. Toko opened the scoring with a penalty to Jared Hayes before the visitors hit their straps with three tries to enter the break 17-3 ahead. Toko started the second half well with a try before Clutha took control again. While their defensive line was strong, Toko were forced into giving away two penalties handy to the posts, which Clutha converted. A final try by the visitors extended their advantage before Toko managed to grab one back on fulltime. Heriot kept in touch with the top four with a 34-32 win over Crescent at Heriot. The first half was evenly matched as both sides scored some nice tries but also gave up possession in crucial areas of the field. Neither side could gain the territorial advantage with the majority of the half played in the middle areas of the field. Crescent led 19-17 at the break, and after the teams traded penalties at the start of the second half, Crescent extended their lead with a try to flanker Andy Carruthers. Heriot refused to let Crescent get away from them and hit back with another well-worked try. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Kairus Booth slotted a penalty to give Crescent a 32-27 lead, but Crescent's discipline began to let them down. Crescent first five Clayton Cochrane suffered a serious knee injury, and the referee stopped the game while he was attended to and removed from the field. From the restart, Heriot scored the match-winning try, much to the delight of the bumper crowd in attendance. West Taieri capped off their 125th jubilee celebrations with a convincing 51-7 win over Clutha Valley to retain the McIntosh Cup and Holmes Milk Can. West Taieri's forward pack carried with purpose and kept Valley's defence on the back foot. Early injuries for Valley did not help with their cohesion, but they were up against a switched-on West Taieri side who ran in nine tries in front of a massive home crowd. West Taieri's pack was led by hooker Bug Tisdall, who scored a brace of tries in his 200th game for his side. Jake Hamer ran the cutter well and set up numerous tries. Owaka recorded their first win of the season, beating Lawrence 25-20 at Swamp Hen Park. The first half was sloppy from both sides. Lawrence held a 15-7 lead at the break. The only real highlight of the first half was a 40m drop goal from front-rower turned midfielder Sam Wyber. Owaka lost No 8 Liuliu Pasina to a red card in the second half, and with the man disadvantage, Owaka played their best footy, scoring two tries and dominating play. Lawrence finished well but could not catch up. — Francis Parker
Otago Daily Times
04-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Steamers only team to remain unbeaten after ‘Duck-shooting Derby'
The Clutha Steamers are the only unbeaten team in the Southern Region premier competition after the latest round. Duck-shooting weekend took precedence as usual with two Thursday night games, a Friday night game and just one Saturday encounter. The annual "Duck-shooting Derby" between fierce rivals Crescent and Clutha was played on Saturday in front of a packed house at Kaitangata. Clutha claimed a 22-19 win after the game was deadlocked at 19-19 for the majority of the second half. Crescent started strongly with the wind behind them and marched out to a 12-0 lead before Clutha hit back with a try late in the half. Crescent led 12-7 at the break but should have perhaps made more of the wind behind them. The second half was a scrappy affair but both sides had their fair share of chances to add points to their tally. The defensive efforts from both sides were huge, but Crescent managed to take the lead with 20 minutes to go. Clutha responded to level the scores before a late penalty gave them a chance to hold on and claim the points, bragging rights, and the Speight's Jug and Centennial Cup. West Taieri gifted Toko their first loss of the season under lights at Outram on Thursday night. The hosts won 22-17 after being behind 17-14 at halftime. Toko's set piece put plenty of pressure on West Taieri, who were not used to being on the back foot, particularly at scrum time. This dominance allowed Toko to operate in the right areas of the field and score two good first-half tries. West Taieri held on to possession better in the second half and made the most of the few opportunities given to them by a determined Toko side. A late try to replacement forward Bug Tisdall sealed the win for West Taieri, who retained the McIntosh Cup and took important points to keep in touch with the leaders. Clutha Valley won their third game on the bounce to give their semifinal chances another leg up. The defending champions beat Lawrence 32-28 despite being on the back foot for large periods. The Friday night spectacle had added spark with hundreds of people turning out to watch a fantastic battle. The first half was an even contest with neither side managing to get away from the other. Valley started well with two early tries before Lawrence took the lead with three quick tries. Valley hit back just before the break to take a 22-21 lead into halftime. Lawrence hit their straps in the second half and looked to have taken their first win of the season before Valley came back into the contest and scored a late try to give them a one-point lead with minutes left. A late penalty sealed the deal before some committed defence kept Lawrence at bay on the final whistle. Heriot beat Owaka 31-27 on Thursday night at Swamp Hen Park. Owaka led 14-12 at halftime and were ahead 27-24 with less than five minutes remaining. Heriot showed their resilience and fought to the end with a late try to No 8 Tyson Adams to get the win. — Francis Parker
