Taranaki rugby league resumes after break

Will Johnston

After a five-month hiatus, Taranaki’s premier rugby league competition is back up and running.

The competition was postponed after three rounds in March when a surge of Covid-19 cases impacted clubs to field competitive teams.

The season restarted a fortnight ago after the finish of Taranaki’s club rugby union season with rounds four and five now completed.

Five teams are competing in the premiership this year – Patea Warriors, Hawera Hawks, Western Suburbs Tigers, Bell Block Marist Dragons and Waitara Bears.

Taranaki Rugby League secretary and treasurer Allana Prestney said it was “predominantly” easier to restart the competition at this time of year.

“We have become the sport that works around rugby,” Prestney said, who is also a member of Bell Block.

“However, a few weeks out from the start, rugby selected Māori and Pasifika rep teams and this has impacted on some of our players and teams.”

She said those playing have shown great form and always play with their hearts.

“These are the role models of our game as we continue to promote and develop pathways for our rangatahi (young people) and junior players coming through.”

Rugby league ensures they synchronises their competitions around the rugby calendar, which forced the competition to start at the beginning of the year.

“There are always things not on their calendar at the beginning of the season.”

This model provides players with a chance of playing both codes without impacting on either season during the traditional winter sport window.

This weekend will see the competition’s semi-finals played with Patea hosting Marist at the Patea Domain and Hawera playing Waitara at Hicks Park.