Patumahoe won a fourth McNamara Cup crown after emphatically beating Karaka 17-8 in the championship final at Navigation Homes Stadium on Saturday.
The number two seeds dominated Karaka from the outset, claiming a mortgage on both territory and possession that would continue for 80 minutes, while handing the much-vaunted Karaka pack at set piece.
It is the club’s first title since 2012 and first under coach Brad Healy.
“Just super proud of the boys, the effort, the resilience through the year, the ups and downs with injuries upon injuries but the one thing is they stayed connected through the year,” Healy said.
“We had our mountain that we wanted to climb, we got here, and we were able to do it – it has been phenomenal.
“We knew our roles clearly to put us in a position to win and right from training on Tuesday they were on. It was nice to see a game plan come to fruition.”
It will help ease the pain of narrow final defeats in 2018 and 2022 for Patumahoe, who also claimed the Women’s Development Grade crown a fortnight ago.
For Karaka, who went through the season undefeated until Saturday, it adds another chapter of heartache to a growing list of being so close.
They failed to fire a shot in the final after being the stand-out team all season but deserve to be recognised for another outstanding year.
The club will take some pride in celebrating winning a second successive Bob Chandler Cup Premier Development crown after they held off a fast-finishing Papakura 22-16 in the curtain-raiser.
That adds to a third successive Massey Cup U21 championship, won a fortnight ago and a successful debut campaign for their women’s side.
Waiuku moved to the top of the Sid Marshall Shield standings as they beat Weymouth 21-17 away from home in a statement ahead of the upcoming semi-finals.
Maramarua kept their slim semi-final hopes alive with a 30-17 win on the road against Manurewa.
Onewhero accounted for Tuakau 67-14 while Te Kohanga edged Puni 22-10.
Te Kauwhata’s chances of making the semi-finals evaporated after a 22-8 loss at home to Drury.
Beachlands Maraetai warmed up for the semi-finals in the U85kg grade with a convincing 31-10 win away to Onewhero.
Karaka were too good for Patumahoe 20-8 while Waiuku hammered Drury 58-10.
It means Waiuku hosts Patumahoe in one semi-final next week while Karaka hosts Beachlands Maraetai in the other.
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