Home games of two halves for Raiders

Both games at Hibiscus Coast Raiders’ Stanmore Bay grounds on Saturday, June 10 saw the home side come out on top. Raiders’ Reserves and Premier teams both played the Manurewa Marlins, with the Reserves earning a decisive 40-26 victory, and the Premiers holding out a tenacious and resilient opposition for a 28-16 win. The following weekend, the home games were a different story, when the Premiers and Reserves took on the top of the table Otara Scorpions. At times the Premiers came close after coming back strongly in the second half, but the final score was 22-16 to Otara. The Reserves’ unbeaten run came to an end when the injury depleted side went down 50 -26 to Otara. Raiders were still in the contest, with the score 2022 at half time. But a barrage of skill and power from Otara saw them pull away for a convincing win.

Loss puts Coast men on back foot

A top of the table clash between Hibiscus Coast men’s football team and East Coast Bays on June 10 set things up for a must-win match for the home side on June 24. On June 10 the visitors were two up within 27 minutes and a second goal followed in the 36th minute, scored by Nicolai Berry. The score remained 2-0 at the break and the home side were struggling against a quick and lethal East Coast Bays attack. The second half started with a flurry of goals, one for each side. First Dylan Stansfield scored for East Coast and then a minute later Adam Dickinson added one for the home team. At the half way stage in the competition, this put East Coast Bays on top and moved Hibiscus Coast back to fourth place in the standings. This result means a must-win clash at home for Hibiscus Coast on June 24 (after this paper went to print). There are only a few points between the top four sides but Hibiscus Coast needs to beat second placed Tauranga on June 24 or they will be far off the pace.