The Whalers notched a 76-16 win to finish first in the South Island, and move into the National Championship.
The Whalers established their dominance from the outset of the game at Forsyth Barr Stadium, scoring early in the encounter and continuing to pile on points seemingly at will.
The impressive back line again proved too skilful for the opposition, with standout performances from Tama Apineru, Jordan Ruatoe, Willie Time, and Hyrum Martin.
Apineru was solid at fullback, making massive in-roads with his kick returns by fending off the opposition and using swift footwork to break the line.
Ruatoe and Time finished the Whalers’ attacking plays with clinical precision, allowing both players to score two tries each.
Martin was the star performer, though. His strong ball carries, elusive footwork, and attacking nous were crucial to the performance by the Whalers and also allowed him to score a hat trick of tries. With dominant showings from multiple players, Otago was in the driver’s seat for the entire first half, to get to 40-4 as the first period of play came to a close.
The second half was a similar story, with Otago scoring in the opening minute and continuing to showcase its attacking skills. It would be easy to overlook the efforts of the Whalers forwards, given the try-scoring efforts of the brilliant backs. But the work they put in in the middle of the park allowed them to gain the ascendancy in the first place.
Hagan Free was yet again crucial to the Whalers’ efforts, taking several strong carries into the opposition line and then locking down the middle of the field when it was his turn to defend.
Camrin Brown put in a stunning performance, busting tackles with ease which was evident in his 80m breakaway try, in which he broke six tackles on his way to the line.
The man of the match award went to prop Tyson Ball, who showed aggression in both attack and defence and established authority over the opposition pack. Ball’s impact from the bench was felt immediately, and the Titans players had their hands full trying to contain him when he tucked the ball under his arm.
To the Titans’ credit, they showed determination to stay in the contest. They were able to score two second-half tries, with their captain, Sam Hedges, getting one of them. Hedges led from the front and showed his side the importance of staying in the fight.
After a strong 2017 campaign, the Whalers now look ahead to the National Championship round in which they will play against Wellington and the Bay of Plenty in a bid to book a spot in the promotion-relegation match to determine the teams in next year’s national competition.
The Whalers will host the Wellington Orcas on September 23.
- Ricki Allan
