18-05-2025
Inspired Athies second half not enough to quell Valley
Photo: ODT files
The more things change the more they stay the same.
After six rounds of the Citizens Shield, Excelsior and Valley find themselves on top of the table following wins on Saturday.
Valley survived an inspired second half from Athletic Marist in a thrilling 32-31 win.
It was almost a comeback for the ages as Athies were down 29-7 at halftime before kicking in to gear.
They opened the second half with a try through a Alifereti Matirewa pick-and-go.
Momentum swung in their favour as a line break from Savenca Rabaka had him sprinting down the field.
He linked up with Osea Qamasea, who gassed the rest of the defence to score his second try.
Another forward sprang their next try as Mateo Qoliesse found himself in the outside channel and beat one defender before turning on the after-burners.
The big man dashed away and drew in the final defender as he passed to Saia Fifita to score.
They ran in one more in the final five minutes to set up a grandstand finish, but Valley held on for the win.
In stark contrast, the first half was all Valley.
They piled on 26 straight points in the opening 25 minutes in a clinical display.
Their forward pack was once again the well-oiled machine as their set piece laid the platform for all four of their tries.
Loose forwards Cameron Rowland and Jacob Pledger were as busy as ever and were rewarded by getting their names on the score sheet.
Twin towers lock-pairing Anthony Docherty and George Mavor provided some grunt to the engine room, while Isaac Clunie was impressive in the 10 jersey both in play and off the tee.
Fullback Ben Paton injected himself into the backline well throughout.
In the other game of the round, Excelsior thumped Kurow 59-19.
The Red Devils kept it close in the first half, but Blues ended up running away with it in the second 40.
Just the two games were played on the weekend as Maheno unfortunately had to default to Old Boys due to injuries diminishing their number.
