Draw – NorthTec Adam Blair – Round 3

After only two weeks in, the NABT competition looks to be fierce in both the North and South pool.  The North pool looks to be the closest of all.  Kaitaia College just scraped by a resurgent Northland College, scoring in the final minutes of play to win 20 – 16, to remain unbeaten.  Newcomers, Kura Hokianga beat Brothers 20 – 12 to also remain unbeaten with 1 win and 1 draw.  Okaihau College were the big improvers defeating Whangaroa 32 – 22 in a free flowing try scoring fest.

In the South pool, Whangarei Boys High School (WBHS) have one hand on the top spot already, after their 48 – 4 demolition of defending champions Kamo High School, in a replay of the 2014 Grand Final.  In what could only be described as a game of two halves, WBHS led going into half time 12 – 4, in what was a tough, uncompromising half of football.  However, WBHS turned the screw in the second half, to score 38 unanswered points as they went on a rampage.  Although heavily defeated, Kamo will still be a threat in the competition.  In the other match in the South pool, Dargaville High School bounced back from their round one defeat to win 46 – 18 against Tikipunga.  Bay of Islands had the BYE.

Points Clarification:  In an amendment to previous scores given, the revised score from Round 1, Kaitaia v Okaihau College game is Kaitaia 44 – Okaihau 22 (as opposed to 66-22 previously noted).

This week in Round 3, the match of the round will be between the two unbeaten teams, with Kaitaia College hosting Kura Hokianga. However, the two other games will be close affairs with Whangaroa College hosting Northland College and Brothers hosting Okaihau.  In the South Pool, the match of the round will see Kamo High School hosting Bay of Islands College. This game will go a long way toward deciding second place in the South Pool, while the other match will be a tough challenge for Tikipunga as they host WBHS.  Dargaville have the bye.

The NABT is played over 5 rounds, with the top two in each pool securing a semi-finals place in the NorthTec Adam Blair Trophy, with home game semi-final advantage going to 1^st place.  Places 3^rd and 4^th in each pool will play in the semi-finals of the Northern Swords Shield, the plate division.

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NORTHTEC ADAM BLAIR COMPETITION – FINALS DAY

RLN have confirmed the venue for the NABT will be played at Central Rugby Ground at Lindvart Park on Thursday 2^nd April.  “With Term 1 being such a short term, it really put us under pressure to come up with a draw that fit.  In years gone by, we have avoided playing the NABT during this week as it is the same week as the Te Tai Tokerau Kapa Haka festival.  However, this year we had no choice. That, combed with having to play the Finals games on a Thursday, has meant that we have had to move our traditional finals venue from Hikurangi to Central Rugby Ground in Kaikohe.  Central Rugby is a quality venue and one that fits the prestige of the NorthTec Adam Blair trophy.’ RLN GM, Alex Smits said.

The finals day plays host to three games of footy with:

• 3^rd and 4^th playoff at 1.00pm
• Final Northern Swords Shield 2.30pm
• Final NABT 4.00pm

NABT XIII v Warriors Development – Saturday, 28^th March

2015 will be the third year that the NABT XIII will play the Warriors Development Squad.  Players will trial on Sunday, 15^th March for a place in a 20-man squad, to take on the Warriors best players below their U20s Squad.  The fixture will be a played at Central Rugby Ground at Lindvart Park, as part of the RLN MultiKai Cooker Premiership Festival of League, with the Hokianga Pioneers hosting the Moerewa Tigers.