Penalty tips Valley over line

Logan Wilson
Logan Wilson
Last season’s Citizens Shield winners Valley had to repel a strong attack from last season’s bottom team Athletic Marist on Saturday.

Valley won 41-40, while in the other games Old Boys beat Excelsior 75-12 and Maheno beat Kurow 21-20.

Valley was up 28-21 at halftime and then pulled away but it just held on.

It dominated the first quarter but took 20 minutes to get a 14-7 lead, building on it in the second quarter.

A dogged Athletic Marist defence held Valley to a 28-21 halftime lead.

With 15 minutes left the score was 33-all, but in the end a Sam Sturgess penalty was the difference.

Old Boys bolted out to a 35-0 halftime lead against Excelsior and in the second half it added a further 40 points to win 75-12.

The individual individual effort came from Old Boys five-eighth Logan Wilson, who was making his club debut, converted 10 of the 11 tries scored.

For Excelsior Josh Phipps and Komatu Tangtinu scored tries, while Phipps added a conversion.

Kurow just fell to Maheno.

Maheno’s captain Hayden Tisdall put his side on the board with a try, which Robbie Smith extended to 7-0. A minute later Kurow three-quarter Dean Fenwick went in for the first of his two tries and Sam McDonald’s conversion levelled the score.

Just before halftime Sam Tatatua and Henry Mitchell added tries, both of which were converted by Smith, giving Maheno a 21-7 halftime lead.

Fenwick crossed for his second try in the 56th minute and Tyler Burgess added a penalty but could not convert Jack Reid’s try.

 - Terry O'Neill
 

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