Ōpōtiki rugby player Braeden Elmiger had his best season yet on the rugby field.

The talented outside back, who used to be a flanker, has been a sensation for the Ōpōtiki premier team the past couple of seasons.

This season he scored more than 20 tries, including five in one match, and showed plenty of pace and skill on attack and defence.

With Eastern Bay teams playing locally rather than Baywide, it can be difficult to gain recognition at the higher level, due to the competition being deemed not as strong by people in Western Bay of Plenty.

Elmiger’s standout form didn’t go unrecognised, however, as he was selected in the Bay of Plenty Ngawha (Development) for the Northern Series.

He was chuffed to gain selection in the side, which is the feeder team to the Bay of Plenty Steamers who play in the NPC.

While he didn’t get a lot of gametime, Elmiger enjoyed every moment.

“Making the Ngawha team was a mean opportunity for me to get my name out there, especially being from the Eastern Bay and getting to play alongside and against top players helped improve my game.”

He said the extra travel it meant for trainings was totally worth it.

“I learnt heaps that’s helped me as a player and also want to pass on what I’ve learnt to my team back home so we can one day compete against those top teams and hopefully see a few more EBOP boys selected in the Bay teams.”

Elmiger is pleased with how he performed against teams that featured provincial rugby players.

“I feel like with the game time I did get, I went out there and did my job.

“I’ve played in the Eastern Bay my whole life, so to go out there and play against the top of the top was hard, but a good opportunity for me to test myself and improve every week.”

The 2025 club season, which Ōpōtiki dominated in the Eastern Bay, and the Ngawha campaign, has Elmiger rating this season as his favourite yet.

“This rugby season has been the most enjoyable for me.

“I mainly play rugby to hang out with the bros and for the culture, but winning the comp and being selected in the Ngawha team has pushed me to take rugby a bit more serious and just see how far I can go.

“So, making the Ngawha team was definitely a highlight of my year and hopefully I’ll be able to carry it on  next year.”