Action-packed season finale set for Riverside Speedway
Another big season of speedway action will draw to a close this Saturday when Aotea Electric Riverside Speedway host their final meeting of the race season.
This season has certainly been a testing one for the Southern club with adverse weather affecting numerous meetings, meaning extra events have had to be scheduled into the race calendar throughout the season.
This, doubled with a new track surface that just would not do what the club wanted, made life very hard and testing for all involved, but the last three meetings the club has seen some expert hands come out of the woodwork. The track is really starting to come into its own, and while it is still a work in progress, travelling drivers are starting to sing its praises and return to each meeting.
This Saturday will see the final Southland Championship contested which will be for Six Shooters. Reigning champion Mason Whelan has been banking some solid results coming into this event and will certainly be tough to beat.
Clubmates Luke Shearing and Danny Livingstone have also been tasting success around the traps with Shearing winning two major events in Cromwell and Livingstone winning the New Zealand Six Shooter Championship for the CTRA organisation.
This event will double as the Scott Gordon Memorial for Six Shooters, a popular event that will attract drivers from both Cromwell and Christchurch, and a real credit to organiser Deborah Brown who looks after this event and the grade, always ensuring the event is one of the most memorable of the season.
Saloons will also race for the Rod McLaren Memorial, and while duck-shooting has taken out a couple of key drivers, the field that has entered so far will be a very competitive; Graham Williamson, of Riverside, and Jason Gold, of Cromwell, are expected to be front-runners for the title.
The Ronnie Tree Memorial for Stockcars will be exciting as it is not all about winning; the Ronnie Tree Memorial Trophy is awarded to the driver who causes the most carnage on track, so expect some big hits across the grade. The favourite going into the event will be Luke Fallow who recently placed second in the South Island Stockcar Championship held at Riverside.
Streetstocks will race for one of their most treasured championships, the Cecile Kergozou Memorial Trophy and a big field of cars will be ready to do battle for the trophy including several out-of-town drivers.
Local hopes will rest with veteran driver Steve Dryden and Dillon MacHattie, who has just returned with a new car — they will have to be at their best to win this event with drivers prepared to wreck their cars with it being the last meeting of the season.
Youth and Production Saloons will also be having their last races of the season, and the Demolition Ramp Derby will see the curtain fall on another busy season at the world's southern-most speedway track.
By Daryl Shuttleworth
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Otago Daily Times
3 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
First-half blitz leaves shield with Dunedin
A wrap-up of premier league club rugby games played in Dunedin over the weekend. Dunedin 34 Green Island 22 Dunedin did enough in the first half to sew up the Speight's Challenge Shield for the summer as they finish the round with an away game and the bye. They scored four converted tries in the first half to grab a crucial five points to remain on top of the table and guarantee a top six spot. Dunedin started with a series of phase plays and eventually winger Kyan Rangitutia found a hole on the blindside and got them close, and No 8 Max Ratcliffe crashed over for the try inside the first six minutes. They then muffed the restart, GI pounced, and flanker Matt McCutcheon found himself in space on the outside and went over for the try to draw level at the 10-minute mark. But that was to be an aberration for the Sharks as GI started falling off tackles and Dunedin took full advantage. Flanker Jarius Losefa went through a gaping hole and stepped the fullback to go over untouched. Then hooker Fatai Koloi crashed over from a forward drive. Rangitutia scored the try of the game as he brushed off tacklers at will on a 40m surge to give Dunedin a commanding 31-10 lead at the break. GI started the second half in a more resolute manner and finally started controlling possession and territory. They scored two more tries from fired-up forwards close to the Dunedin line. The first was scored by prop Ben Lopas after they had hammered away inside the Dunedin 22m. Then, late in the half, Harrison Stout went over from a lineout drive to bring some respectability back into the scoreboard. Dunedin looked lethargic in the second half and left a couple of tries out on the park with some indifferent option taking. Prop Hunter Fahey, hooker Fatai Koloi and lock Curtis Palmer were strong on the carry and muscled up on defence for Dunedin. In the backs, Cam Burgess and midfielder Gene Te Amo stood up, and Rangitutia with his immense strength was the most dangerous back on the park. For GI, Lopas was into everything and never took a backward step. Loosie Amos Roddick carried strongly, and centre Riley Lucas was their best out wide. — Paul Dwyer Kaikorai 33 Southern 22 Kaikorai had a solid plan. They got after Southern playmaker Mackenzie Palmer and did a good job of shutting him down. The Magpies first five had several kicks charged down. He did not get the space he needed to organise the backline and got pressured into some hurried passes. The shift from Bathgate Park to the University Oval certainly helped Kaikorai more than their opponents. They got a dry ground and the sun was out. That helped nullify Southern's advantage in the scrum. Ultimately, they were more accurate than Southern, who produced a clumsy finish. Southern, who led 19-14 at the break, squandered a royal chance to build more scoreboard pressure. Fullback Levi Emery held on to it too long when Josh Buchan was nicely placed outside him. Early in the second half, Kaikorai fullback Charlie Breen put in a lovely chip and chase, and loose forward Orlando Tuhega-Vaitupu got in support to score. Southern regained the lead through a penalty to Palmer. But Slade McDowall busted through a couple of tackles and No 8 Phoenix Tapatu dived over. Then impressive centre Jake Fowler scooped up a loose pass from Palmer and sprinted 50m to score to seal the win. He made a dazzling run in the first half to help set up another try. Harry Taylor was outstanding for Southern. He nabbed a lot of lineout ball, including a critical steal when Kaikorai were hard on attack. Josh Timu showed some good gas and looked dangerous before he was subbed in the second half. — Adrian Seconi Taieri 88 Alhambra-Union 12 Taieri showed a different side of themselves. They demolished Alhambra-Union by 76 points at the University Oval. No surprises there. The Broncos have been poor this season. They have a chronic inability to tackle, and they fade away in the second half. But Taieri played more rugby than fans have come to expect. They usually shine on defence and have been clinical in turning pressure into points. They are extremely well-organised. Methodical, even. But they put on some razzmatazz out wide. The Whaanga brothers — Matt and Josh — combined brilliantly, and winger Marc Roony nabbed three tries. Lock Sam Fischli made several star appearances behind the defensive line after ploughing his way through some feeble tackles. Fullback Reef Newdick has some X-factor and pace. He did blot his copybook with a yellow card for an infringement. First five Sam Waitoa slotted nine conversions and scored a try in a 23-point haul. AU did reasonably well to contain Taieri to a 31-7 lead at the break, but the wheels feel off in the second spell. The Thode twins continue to shine each week. Oliver dived over from the base of a ruck, and William drilled the conversion from wide out. They have a spark about them, those two. Connor Aldrich scored a late consolation try for AU. — Adrian Seconi Harbour 82 Zingari-Richmond 24 Harbour's Rique Miln made up for missed opportunities, after missing the past six rounds through an ankle injury and stalling his points tally on 71, when he made a starring return in Harbour's win at Montecillo. The first five scored two of Harbours 12 tries and converted 11 for a tally of 32 points to become the first player in division 1 this season to crack three figures. Despite tenacious defence from a Zingari-Richmond side forced to promote 11 players from the colts grade, Harbour dominated the opening 10 minutes, jumping out to a 12-0 lead. But tries in quick succession to hooker A-One Lolofie and second five Tama Apineru locked the game up at 12-12 heading into the second quarter. Zingari dominated most of the second quarter, but Harbour scored twice against the run of play to take a 26-12 lead into the break. Harbour bolted out of the blocks straight from the restart, hooker Gabriel Francesconi scoring the first of his two tries in the opening minutes to set alight an eight-try scoring blitz from the Hawks. Despite the scoreline blowing out, Zingari remained in the game with some telling line-breaks and defensive work. Lock Ciaran Jansen had the final say when converting a try by fellow lock Simon Pupuali'i in the final act of the game to help mark his 100th premier game for the Colours. Both Jansen and Pupuali'i featured in a Zingari tight five that worked tirelessly throughout to snuff out the myriad threats posed by the big Harbour pack. In the backs, Reef Jolly and Tevita Tui featured out wide on debut with fullback Jerome Buckley-Fa'atoia. For Harbour, Miln and halfback Nathan Hastie set alight a dangerous backline. Up front, Francesconi and props Darius Fidow and Ben Fakataha proved a handful while creating opportunities for the rest of the pack to attack from and building a solid platform for the inside backs. — Wayne Parsons Round 12 The scores Dunedin 34 (Max Ratcliffe, Jarius Losefa, Fatai Koloi, Kyan Rangitutia tries; Cam Burgess 4 con, 2 pen) Green Island 22 (Matt McCutcheon, Ben Lopas, Harrison Stout tries; Liam Barron 2 con, pen). Halftime: Dunedin 31-10. Kaikorai 33 (Henry Bell, Taine Hand, Orlando Tuhega-Vaitupu, Phoenix Tapatu, Jake Fowler tries; Ben Miller 4 con) Southern 22 (Isileli Otunuku, Josh Buchan, Lotu Solomona tries; Mackenzie Palmer 2 con, pen). Halftime: Southern 19-14. Taieri 88 (Marc Rooney 3, Riley Allan 2, Taylor Fiddes, Reef Newdick, Matt Whaanga, Sireli Kawa Buliruarua, Jak Morton, Sam Fischli, Sam Waitoa, Josh Whaanga, Thomas Bolton tries; Waitoa 9 con) Alhambra-Union 12 (William Thode, Connor Aldrich tries; William Thode con). Halftime: Taieri 31-7. Harbour 82 (Rique Miln 2, Jeff Ikani 2, Willy Tufui 2, Gabriel Francesconi 2, Nathan Hastie, Luca Fuller, Toni Taufa, Saimone Samate tries; Milne 11 con). Zingari-Richmond 24 (A-One Lolofie, Tama Apineru, Jerome Buckley-Fa'atoia, Simon Pupuali'i tries; Buckley-Fa'atoia con, Ciaran Jansen con). Halftime: Harbour 26-12. Standings P W D L F A B Pts Dunedin 11 9 0 2 377 176 8 44 Taieri 11 8 0 3 407 223 10 42 Kaikorai 11 7 0 4 412 276 7 35 Southern 10 6 0 4 431 216 9 33 Green Island 11 6 0 5 344 291 9 33 Harbour 10 6 0 4 346 311 9 33 University 10 5 0 5 345 310 7 27 Zingari-Richmond 11 1 0 10 249 588 5 9 Alhambra-Union 11 0 0 11 179 169 2 2
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Anyone's guess who makes top 6
The wrap Dunedin, Taieri and Southern all flexed their muscles at the weekend as they put themselves in the frame to go into the top six as the top qualifiers. What order they will finish is anyone's guess. Southern put 80 points on a seriously under-strength Zingers outfit which was not much more than a training run up at Bastion Point. In the game of the round, Taieri did enough with their resolute defence to deny Varsity any points at the University Oval. Varsity for some reason just can't get past the Eels. They sit on 27 points and are on life support to make the six! On a dreadfully cold Friday night at Logan Park, Dunedin, on the back of some impenetrable defence, did enough in the second half to come away with a comfortable victory over Kaik. They've now won eight straight but I did say in an earlier column nobody goes through this second round unbeaten. Finally AU put in their best performance of the season when they kept defending champs GI to a miniscule 12-point victory at the Pony Pit. Still too early to predict the final make up of the six, with three points separating four through seven. What are the board doing? I see the Otago Rugby Union have announced a new competition to be played between teams from Invercargill, Southland Country, Otago Country and two from Dunedin. Was there any consultation on this? I understand the MCRC (town clubs) were informed of it as a fait accompli a few days before it appeared in the ODT. Purportedly the aim is to give players wider exposure. To what, one may ask? It is also to help pick Otago B and Southland B — really? Will players really want to play? The big question is where is the Otago board with this? Presumably they've given this comp the green light — but what is the strategy here? The MCRC a few years ago came up with a proposed early round competition to be played between North Otago, Dunedin, Central, South and Southland Clubs as precursor to the local competitions. Both Otago Rugby and Southland Rugby felt they were swallowing cyanide they were so anti the concept. What's changed? Who is picking up the tab for this comp? We have no money! Will the board roll out the ''old turnip'' it's all about pathways for players. We have already selected our 27 players for Otago at the start of the season. The only way to have a true pathway is no provincial signings for any team until June 1. That is a pathway and New Zealand Rugby needs to wake up and smell the roses. The clubs in Dunedin are doing it harder than ever this year to make ends meet. The proliferation of Friday night games, Varsity exams, the lack of referees is killing us. I get the feeling the clubs will vote for two full rounds next year to get some revenue coming in. That will mean the comp won't finish till August 9-10. What then with this comp? Enough from me but watch Rugby Chat next week as I'll get Moxy Smith and Warren Kearney from the union to argue their case for the defence — it'll be a must see. Women's final It's only halfway through June and we already have our first final. The women's final is being played at 4.30pm at the Greenhouse on Saturday between AU and Dunedin. This is the fourth consecutive final between these two teams. Dunedin have won two and AU one in the last three. They have both won a game against each this year and traditionally the margin is normally a couple of points at best. Both teams play an exciting brand of rugby and under the roof it will be some spectacle, so get along if you can. AU go in as favourites on current form and, let's face it, the club needs some building up!! I'm afraid I'll tip the Sharks but only by the barest of margins, but really it goes either way. Brotherly love Word on the street is that two Eel players are hitting a milestone against AU this weekend. Not too unusual, you would have thought, but it is if they are brothers! Hooker Brady Robertson hits the century tomorrow and younger brother Shea plays his 50th and blazer game. Shea is also in the tight five at lock for the Eels. Fantastic double achievement lads. Hope you have a great night at the Eelpit tomorrow night. Loose ends Colts rugby (junior and premier) finishes up this week for a month with the Varsity holidays kicking in. It's been a tough couple of weeks with varsity exams as well, so congrats to clubs for just getting players on the park. I promise next week we'll get back on the farm and find out who is doing what in the country. I'll also update the standings for the other grades in town and I'll update out form XV for June. This weekend Got absolutely pumped again last weekend by Volt Llew Johnson who now has a differential against me of +30 and will be hard to catch. Up against wicketkeeper Max Chu this week so doubtless I'll right the ship. Taieri (13+) will slither into town to the Pony Pit and dismantle AU with venom to garner another five points. Dunedin (13+) are at home at the Sandpit and defending the Speight's Challenge Shield hopefully from their point of view, for the last time this season. GI are still struggling with injuries and Sharks should get it done comfortably. Harbour (13+), coming off the bye, really need five points and should get it over Zingers at the Lobster Emporium all things being equal. Southern (13+) were too big and strong up front for Kaik in the first round and at Bog Bathgate I think this game only goes one way — the Magpies eight get them home in a canter. In the country last week I was robbed by Wally Lees when Matak conceded a last-gasp try to Wakatip but I move on with good grace. Up against Dribbles Parker from Owaka this week who needs no introduction and I feel that winning feeling. Unbeaten Clutha (13+) will be too good for Lawrence at Gabriels Gully. Put your nuggets on it. The prison guards from Toko (12-) are just tougher than the Coalminers from Crescent and get it done but not without heart murmurs. Clutha Valley (12-) are due and may get it done at Owaka but there will only be an electric fence in it. West Taieri (13+) are starting to show some form and the Heriot farmers will struggle in the market garden.
Otago Daily Times
01-06-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Small in stature, big on commitment
Southern player Utalia Moataane, 6, charges on at the annual Taieri sevens junior rugby tournament, at Mosgiel's Peter Johnstone Park yesterday. PHOTOS: GREGOR RICHARDSON. At least 1000 young rugby players faced off on the field during an annual tournament in Dunedin yesterday. About 75 teams gathered at Mosgiel's Peter Johnstone Park for the annual Taieri sevens junior rugby tournament. Ollie Batt, 6, of the Taieri Rugby Football Club, scored the first try in a match against Kaikorai. His mother Leonie Hamilton said from the sidelines she was "pretty excited" about his performance. Taieri Gold player Ollie Batt, 6, sprints towards the try line to score against Kaikorai. It was his first time playing in the seven-a-side tournament, taking after his older brother who already had a history at the event, she said. "He follows in [his brother's] footsteps ... and he's rugby mad. "Rugby is definitely his sport." The tournament was open to children in year 2 to those in year 8, from the wider Otago region. Alyssa Johnson, 8, of the Green Island Rugby Club, takes possession of the ball. Tournament official Tania Burton estimated at least 1000 children were joined by another thousand spectators at this year's tournament. While it was a lot of work, it was a lot of enjoyment too, she said. It was very much a "community-driven event". "Everyone looks forward to the sevens — all the refs, all the clubs. "It's an absolute standout of our year of rugby." This year's tournament was their second using an app for the draw and to display up-to-date live scores. A focus on sideline behaviour also featured this year, she said. "It's not always about the winners and losers, it's justeveryone having a great day."
