The Benson Selwyn coached, Northern Swords 17s, sit top of the table in the NZRL National Championship

The Swords 17s, beat the Waicoa Bay Colts 36 – 34, in a points scoring thriller.  Leading 16 – 8, the Swords looked to be cruising.  Complacency is the biggest killer in Rugby League, with Waicoa Bay and the Swords trading blow for blow in the second half before James Dean Fisher-Harris crashed over the line, from a set move, with three minutes left to play, to secure victory.

James Dean Fisher-Harris and Hamish Pomare did their selection chances for an NZRL 18s jersey, a world of good, with both of them scoring two tries a piece.  The final squad for the NZRL 18s, will be named on Thursday, for the two test match series against the Australian School Boys with the first game being played at Toll Stadium on September 30^th.  Key Dates.

This is the first time a Northern Swords team has:

• Won back to back games in a season
• Won back to back against an opposition team (the Swords 17s defeated Waicoa in 2012)
• Topped the points table

The Swords 17s will be looking to stay at the top of the table as they take on the Central Vipers this weekend at Ohaewai.  The Swords won’t be taking the Vipers 17s lightly, as they shocked the Wellington Orcas 42 – 28 in Whanganui.

The Swords Premiers have yet to record their first win, losing 52 – 18 to the Waicoa Bay Stallions.  The Swords had a much improved performance.   The Swords looked down and out at 24 – 6 at half time.  They managed to fight their way into the game with the score 24 -12 with less than 20 minutes left on the clock, but the superior experience of the Bays took the game away from the Swords.  New comers to the team Corey Naera and Ash Harawira, both had strong performances.

The Swords Premiers will be looking for their first win when they take on the Central Vipers this weekend.  The Premiers currently sit in 6^th place, just above the Central Vipers (7^th place) on points difference. The Premiers will have the added advantage of Tom McCaffrey, High Performance Coach from St George Illawara, helping with training this week and the boys will up the training intensity, training three nights this week, with Tom’s assistance.