Karaka snapped their three-game losing streak in emphatic style as they thumped Papakura 57-10 in their McNamara Cup game at Karaka Sports Complex on Saturday.
The result never looked in doubt as they home side jumped out to an early lead and continued to pile the points on.
The win solidifies their place in the top three – which is now protected with a 10-point buffer back to fourth.
“Happy to get the five points from the game given the last month’s results,” coach Craig Hill told Counties Sports Hub.
“We scored some very good long-range tries.
“To Papakura’s credit they pulled out some very good last line of defence tackles at times.”
Patumahoe enjoyed the lion’s share of possession early and turned that into points against Manurewa at Patumahoe Domain. They then powered clear in the second half to secure a 43-12 win over the reigning champions.
“It was still a tough battle – we just stuck to our game plan, which was good,” Patumahoe coach Brad Healy said.
“We wanted to shut that physical side down early and get our chances to get into our shape and use the ball to our advantage, which I feel we did in parts.
“Still a lot to work on; still messy around our set piece some times and just looking after the pill.”
Pukekohe maintained top spot on the table with a 62-7 drubbing of Ardmore Marist at Colin Lawrie Fields.
Michael Porter’s side raced out of the blocks and had a 45-0 lead at the halftime break.
Ardmore Marist, to their credit, continued to battle hard and were better in the second half.
Home sides picked up the wins in the Bob Chandler Cup Premier Reserves competition with Pukekohe and Patumahoe securing big wins while Karaka had a walk-over win against Papakura.
Te Kohanga put the Sid Marshall Shield competition on notice with a 31-12 victory over Weymouth at Puni Domain.
It is just the second loss of the season for Weymouth while Te Kohanga are now knocking on the door of a semi-final position.
Drury maintained their unblemished record with a hard-fought 24-15 win over last year’s champions Puni at Drury Domain.
Te Kauwhata kept in touch with the leaders thanks to a 36-17 win over Manurewa at Te Kauwhata Domain while Waiuku edged Maramarua 20-13 in a back-and-forth contest at Maramarua.
Patumahoe picked up their first win of the season thanks to an epic 25-19 win over Tuakau at Patumahoe Domain.
Pukekohe kept their nose in front in the battle for second place on the Massey Cup U21s ladder thanks to a 41-26 win over Ardmore Marist.
Third placed Manurewa returned serve as they thrashed Papakura 50-5.
Karaka continued their dominance of the grade however, as they cruised to a 36-5 road win against Patumahoe.
Ardmore Marist kept their semi-final hopes alive in the U85kg grade as they edged Beachlands Maraetai 9-8 in a knife-edge contest at Bruce Pulman Park.
Patumahoe picked up a crucial 27-22 win over Pukekohe at Colin Lawrie Fields to maintain second spot while Karaka edged defending champions Onewhero 27-21 at Onewhero Domain.
Competition leaders Waiuku secured a comfortable 69-0 win over Drury.
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