Harbour 47
Dunedin 27
New recruitments shine as Harbour smash Dunedin. Lock, Dean 7ft Williams and half-back Melani Matavao were outstanding in their first game for the hawks.
The Harbour forward pack took control from the outset and ruthlessly won the game for them.
They controlled possession from ruck and lineout and their punishing ball runners in the form of hooker Sekonaia Pole and blindside Joketani Koroi delivered in spades. Dunedin took 60 minutes to win a lineout and this summed up their day.
Harbour had run in five tries by halftime and this game was over as a contest.
Dunedin added some respectability by running in four tries of its own in the second spell, as the game loosened up. Fullback Josh McKay led the way, but they still finished shy by 20 points.
Harbour was desperate, as it had to win to have any show of making the top four and that showed in its first-half performance. Koroi and Pole were their best by some margin but their inside backs Logan Allen and Marckis Schaaf controlled play well for them.
It was tough to find stand-outs for the Sharks but prop Teague McIlroy got through a power of work and lock Mark Grieve Dunn never gave up. With scant possession, the Dunedin backline looked good at times and McKay sparked a lot of their play from the back with his extreme pace.
Read the full ODT write-up here