Otago CEO Richard Kinley has pulled a fast one after initially agreeing to let Lucas Casey play in Northland Rugby on Saturday he’s had a change of mind and Casey will no longer turn out for Kerikeri
Really disappointing for many locals ,family and friends who had caught wind Lucas was turning out for his home town and were all making the trip across to Dargaville
Heard Lucas was a bit annoyed by this decision Pretty short sited stuff from Kinley imo
Wonder what Richard has got lined up for him on Saturday then . . . DH
@Steven-Harris would seem strange to pull him out at last minute, even if he is in AB frame, plenty of them still have 2 weeks of rugby ahead, shame, would have been a good run for him in the Kaihu Valley!
Round 12 played today in what were good rugby conditions across the north.
Were a couple of results that were not expected, starting with Kerikeri rolling the Sharks in Kaihu, and Hikurangi coming from behind to get a respectable draw with Old Boys Marist.
Sharks 7 - 21 Kerikeri
Moerewa/United Kawakawa 22 - Mid Northern 47
Hika 36 - 36 OBM
Otamatea 23 - 26 Wellsford
Kamo 32 - 24 Hora Hora
I went along to the Kamo HH game, which was a good battle, with the game in the balance for most of the game.
For the hosts, 1st 5 Nikau Graham was very good, directing play, kicking and some excellent running picking up an excellent try in the process, fullback Jacob Lowther and his twin, 6 Harry, lock Callum McRury and 7, Sharky Autonovich all very good.
For HH, the class of #8 Grady Forbes & centre Henare Parangi was clear to see, while 1st 5 Josh McRae and strong running hooker Esene Tupata were also very good, McRae did have a blemish of a YC in the 1st half, tracking back making a trysaving tackle on GRaham, only to lie on the ball preventing Kamo to attack.
I understand Forbes (from BOP I think) has been offered a dev side contract for Northland but 2 other unions have offered full contracts, classy player that we should be securing, hoping he wont be another Lucas Casey, similarly, Parangi, love watching this kid play, oozes class, should absolutely be playing NPC rugby next year as i cant see him breaking in this year without several injuries.
Also an important milestone for Otamatea's Mike Robinson bringing up 300 games for the Hawks.
Updated table:
MN - 60
UK/Moerewa - 38
Wellsford - 38
Kamo - 38
Sharks - 38,
KK - 25
HH - 29
OBM - 27
Hika - 19
Otamatea - 5
Stupid app...so Sharks smoked Kerikeri, 71 - 21, which will have them on 38 as well: Sharks, Kamo, MUKK, Wellsford in that order on 38 chasing MN.
@taniwharugby shame Terrell Peita and Eslie Fono were’nt released i’m convinced both would have made a big difference for HH
Spot on about Grady Forbes ,hes quality
Stopped into watch the MUK v MN today
MN after being rattled early got their game together at the 25m nark and cruised to a 47-22 to win
Jade Stewart at 10 for MN was outstanding Ben Love at halfback was sharp around the base and his support play first c̄lass
Matt Le toga was best of the MN pack ,great to see Zak Shanks back
Got through 40 minutes well before being replaced
For MUK ,none played better than Josh Davis started at Fullback could easily slot into 10
Kicks reasonbly well from hand an the tee
Lucas Reid at 8 ,younger brother of Hoani went well
Not overly sizeable but carries big
A youngster for the Kade Maioha on the wing only 70 kgs but has great footwork and a rugby brain
@taniwharugby i can remember Mike Robinson being the halfback for Otamatea when they made the semi final over a decade ago
Shane Neville ,Matt Moulds and Dan Hawkins were also in the team
Former Alk Black halfback Dean Kenny was the coach
Lost to Mid Northern in the bog at Hukerenui Wellsford i recall went on to win the title that year
Wright Brothers and Ranger all at their best
@Steven-Harris Was that thenyear Vainakolu tore shit up?
@Steven-Harris said in Northland Rugby 2026:
Spot on about Grady Forbes ,hes quality
He is a good prospect. Forbes went through the Chiefs system but seemed to lack opportunities at BOP.
@taniwharugby 21 year old Fetuʻu Vainikolo and 19 year old Rene Ranger terrorised most club defences in Northland club rugby back 2006/2007 ,Vanikolo held the club try scoring record up until last year Mid Northern wing Petero Ratumaitavuku finally breaking the record
Some good rugby played on a perfect winters day.
No real surprise results today:
Kerikeri 53 - 19 Hikurangi
Wellsford 24 - 19 MUKK
Otamatea 10 - 50 Old Boys Marist
Mid Northern win by default over Kamo
The other game was Hora Hora hosting the Western Sharks, with the visitors taking it 14-31.
HH look to have a few injuries, particularly in thier pack. which is where the Sharks strength lies, and they set the tone early on with prop Zack Willy scoring his 1st of 4 maul tries, thier other score coming from busy hooker, Jardan Hutchings.
HH while creating chances, we just unable to finish them to give themselves a shot at winning.
For the hosts, again Grady Forbes was to the for with his massive workrate on both sides along with good ball running skills, similarly, young Henare Parangi is a class act, one of those player who just seems to do good things each time he touches the ball, full back Tamaeti Wihongi is a sharp on the counter while Jayden Webb-Milner is a 2nd 5 in the mold of Sam Tuitupou, small guy but plays big, and hard to miss with his flowing ginger mullet!
The Sharks were lead by thier pack, with Coree Te Whata Colley enjoying his day out in a dominant scrum and smacking people on defence, and as always, a few shoulder charges too...big 8
Kaufononga Tausinga was a menace going forward, while the tallest player on the park, winger Justin Friedrich was all over the park.
Table:
Mid Northern - 65
Wellsford - 43
Sharks - 43
MUKK - 39
Kamo sit on 38, the only other side with a realistic shot at the top 4, as OBM sit back on 32, KK and HH on 30 back to Hika on 18 and Otamatea on 4
And as last week, another player to hit 300 games, NZ Maori, celebrated Wellsford prop, Northland centurian and current forward coach, Ross Wright played his 300th premier game for Wellsford today.
@steven-harris had mentioned previously, but now confirmed.
Be good to see him back and no doubt be good for the young fellas, in particular, young locks Darcy Holwell and Ashton Williams.
@taniwharugby great to have Josh back will add plenty of experience along with Caird and Craig
Young Ashton Williams is heading down to Waikato to study so he’s unavailable for the Northland U20s which is unfortunate
Looks to be growing and doesn’t look that far off his Dad Bryce who was 6’8
Ah I forgot he was off, seems daft he can't play for the u20s this year when he has played club here this season.
@Bovidae would not surprise me if northland have dropped the ball there then.
With Apoua off i see we have signed young Ricky Heremaia from MN which is great to see, however i think we are still short in the front row, really hope they dont make the same mistake as last year signing a dud from MLR who ended up taking alot of minutes away from local players.
Final round for the finals, with 3 of the top 4 already decided, only Kamo sitting in 5th had a shot of sneaking in, but they had to beat Wellsford with a BP and deny them a BP, they won but were unable to deny the BP.
Played in perfect conditions it was a cracking game, plenty of big hit, some great tries, and the most Yellow cards I have seen all sesson!
There was a bit of handbags that involved a dozen or more players that saw each team lose a man around 33 mins, then i think Wellsford picked up a further 3 yellow and Kamo 2, one of which became a red against Blake Hohaia as he picked up the 1st YC as well, both for throwing hands too.
Kamo was always in control but Wellsford were always hunting, but Kamo won comfortably 35-27.
For the home team midfielder Alec Tipene was strong with ball in hand, while prop Jah Mangu was always on hand to cart it up or make a hit, while half Marley Murphy provided good service and picked a nice try in the 2nd spell, also like the workrate of Callum McRury.
For Wellsford, 8 Cody Aull was busy on both sides showing some great soft skills too, his brother Latham was strong in the midfield while Ross Wright, who has slowed still worked hard on both sides and put in a huge hit at 40 mins.
Rene Ranger came off the bench to do Rene things, some brilliant touches mixed with some poor decisions, but still good to see him and Wright keeping the young fellas honest.
In the other games:
Morewa-United Kawakawa 45 - 26 Kerikeri
Mid Northern 24 - 17 Hora Hora
Hikurangi 34 - 21 Otamatea
Old Boys Marist 15 - 39 Western Sharks
Interestingly, HH was leading MN until about 60 mins, good to see them have to fight to win, but not sure thier semi final opponent will be pleased.
Final table:
Mid Northern - 70 (unbeaten, 14 BP wins, +432 point diff)
Sharks - 48
MUKK - 44
Wellsford - 44
Kamo - 43
OBM - 32
Kk - 31
HH - 31
Hikurangi - 24
Otamatea- 4
Semi finals:
Mid Northern v Wellsford
Sharks v MUKK
@taniwharugby Possibly a game Hora Hora should have won no thanks to not having a 3rd official running the touch line which happened to be a member of the Mid Northern club ignoring 2 clear forward passes , Kiwi Duncan who was the recipient of one of the tries admitting post match that both tries were clearly forward Not good enough Northland rugby ,Hora Hora loose forwards Terrell Peita and Grady Forbes outplaying their opponents, Henare Pairangi continues to impress as a super intelligent midfielder outplaying the physically impressive Guy Waerehu
Only hoping Northland don’t screw this up as this kid should be part of the Taniwha squad if not this year definitely next year
Others to impress for Hora Hora was James Mullan who started at hooker and then defied the instructions from Northland rugby and played virtually the full game moving on to the blindside position
Boston Watson is one to watch pulling off 2 massive hits on Rob Rush which well and truly stung the Northland backrower
@Steven-Harris yeah the games i have seen Parangi play, he is quality, if we can keep him in rugby,has the game to go to at least Super, smart, speed and nice footwork, def think if required he'd be upto npc this year, i is a fan!!
Not sure what northland is upto, because i think they had pulled the other HH hooker last week, heath mcewan who recently signed for northland.
I expect these guys just want to play rugby and being stood down for fear of injury (why else otherwise) is ridiculous.
said in Northland Rugby 2026:
Semi finals:
Mid Northern v Wellsford
Sharks v MUKK
Turns out Northland roll different, our finals are 1 v 3 and 2 v 4
MN v MUKK
Sharks v Wellsford
I exoect the final to be MN v Sharks
said in Northland Rugby 2026:
I exoect the final to be MN v Sharks
Semi 1: Sharks 34 - Wellsford 28
Semi 2: Mid Northern 38 - UKMoerewa 22
So MN v Sharks for the final, and seemingly daftly, NRU have scheduled the final at 1730 on Saturday, clashing with the ABs (that is assuming the App is correct, which it may not be)
2026 Northland Taniwha Npc squad
Jordon Trainor
Brady Rush
James Raam (unavailable until R4)
Nathan Salmon
Solomon Alaimalo
Heremaia Murray
Ruben Stewart
Corey Evans ( Possibly R2 after another round of surgery)
Resaan Pasitoa
Possible return from injury R2)
Rivez Reihana
Jade Stewart
Sam Nock
Josh Renton
Zion Going
Forwards
Simon Parker
Grady Forbes
Rob Rush
Lachlan Hooper
Terrell Peita
Zak Shanks
Sam Caird
Allen Craig
Josh Goodhue
Marcel Renata (TH)
Junior Fifita (TH)
Eslie Fono (LH)
Ollie Ryan (LH)
Riki Heremaia (LH)
One more tight head prop to be confirmed
James Mullan
Jordon Hutchings
Heath McEwan
These players will be bought into the squad as academy players
Darcy Holwell
Ben Love
Henare Pairangi
Tai Clyde
Gone from last years team
Matt Moulds (retired) Head coach at Grammar Tech in Auckland
Jordon Lay (season ending injury )
Ofa Tuangafasi Auckland
Liam Hallam Eames
Auckland
Jake Heenan (retired)
Quinton Nicholas (playing club in Auckland currently)
Paula Balekana ?
Players who could come into cover players injured atm
Matt Letoga
Coree Te Whata Colley
Guy Visachi Waerehu
Kiwi Duncan
@Steven-Harris are Zion Going and Grady Forbes on full or academy contracts? I must have missed their announcements.
@Pepe I was told Zion Going would be offered a full contract yet to be announced ,Grady Forbes would be upgraded to a full contract if Simon Parker made the ABs , I would be mortified if he doesn’t get a full contract has easily been the best loose forward in club rugby
Still tight head prop to be named there’s is one on the go at the minute from Super Rugby Australian team
There’s was a prop from the MLR that Northland were negotiating with but it would have gone done like a lead ballon when the name came out
@Duluth I believe it is last for both, I think this would likely be Cairds & Craigs last campaigns.
Lachlan Hooper was on a 2 year and usually the Aussie guys would end up back in Aus after a couple of seasons, James Raam is only a single season signing I think, unsure if Pasitoa will stay on either (regardless of what his Highlanders status is)
Jordan Trainor is another, been quality for us, I'd hope he sticks about, but wouldnt surprise if he isnt back.
Think Mullan was signed on a 2 year deal, as was Olly Ryan, I would be happy to re-sign Mullan, whereas Ryan hasnt started for Mid Northern when all thier props were availabe as far as I could tell.
@TimberlandTriton Coree Te Whata-Colley is a seasoned campaigner for us, could do the job if required, but as always, his fitness is an issue.
Guy Visachi-Warehu, big strong and fast, still only 21 I think so has plenty of learning, he has played both centre and wing for MN, is one of a few players I wanted to get a shot, and deserved a shot last year over Balekana.
Kiwi Duncan, he is quick, very strong on contact and post contact, hampered by injury, still have concerns over his decision making at times (ie when to gas it, or to pass it or take contact)
Letoga, when he first played for northland a few years back v NH, thought he would be a fixture for us, but has had injuries and also has got himself fitter, losing some KGs, which I think has taken a little of his punch.
@TimberlandTriton @taniwharugby pretty much summed it up Coree is a bloody enigma got everything required to have played at Super level conditioning always been his weakness
@Steven-Harris great to see Josh Goodhue back , Super Rugby maybe. Still young man.
@Steven-Harris another Aussie or another signing? What position?
While id rather we go local, if they commit to more than 1 season and are playing super i can make peace with that.
And no surprises that MN carried on thier winning ways taking the final to remain unbeaten, while tight at halftime, a couple of cards to the Sharks put paid to any thoughts of an upset.
As the season wore on, other sides did seem to close the gap with them being down for parts of.games, but thier overall strength and depth showed through.
@taniwharugby just a shame Western Sharks were missing a decent backline this year
Got a reasonable forward pack who will match it physically with any team but when you have Matt Matich playing centre and Justin Frederick’s who is a lock playing on the wing and I mean this respectfully to both who have been a wonderful servants to the Western Sharks it’s never going to be an easy task against a Mid Northern team that’s looked the team most likely to win despite being pushed in the later round robin
Credit to the Sharks for being in the final but I know backline recruitment is a must for the Dargaville club
@Steven-Harris tbf, Friedrich has played wing most of the year and i think he played there in the final last year, was very good that day and when I watched them in the round robin, he has been very good for them on the wing.
But your comment on matich is valid, as I think he played 13 in the final last year too, and they miss his work around the park and at the breakdown when he is out there.
@taniwharugby Justin is one of those players who play anywhere and will do a job for you but not what you need when your up against teams that have good pace on the outsides
I also gonna mention with the regular halfback Jack Bradley who is possibly the best halfback in Northland not to have played for the Taniwha that’s a massive loss ..unfortunately injured atm