It looked incredibly likely that Ōpōtiki were going to pick up their third win of the Baywide Premier Men’s competition and second against Te Puna.

Ōpōtiki had control of the football with about 90 seconds to play, however, a decision to kick it down field backfired as Te Puna managed to score a try and tie the contest 36-all.

It’s a shame for Ōpōtiki as they played some cracking rugby and deserved to go home with competition points.

Kiovi Magalogo was a standout on the wing, helping himself to a hattrick, including a try with 20 minutes remaining that put Ōpōtiki 36-15 ahead.

Ōpōtiki also scored a fantastic set piece try – a contender for try of the season – that was finished off by Tamarau Karepa.

Coach David Te Moana said he was proud of the guys and their performance.

“We took a bit of a risk and played some younger boys for the last 20-odd minutes.

“They did really well, but it probably meant we didn’t quite have the experience we needed out there.

“As a coach, I will take a lot of learnings from that.”

While there was slight disappointment, Te Moana was more than content with the result.

“It showed we can play some very good rugby against quality opposition.”

Te Moana said it had been a good decision, heading up to the premier grade.

“The boys have really gotten in behind the decision. It just made no sense for us staying put on a comp where we might actually lose players because of the results.

“A lot of people were interested in seeing how we would go in the premier grade, and I think we’ve surprised a few.”

He said their goal after facing Te Puke at Princess Street Reserve in their final home contest of the season was to have a bit of a break before looking ahead to next season.

“I knew it was going to be a three- to five-year plan to turn the club around we are currently in year two of that.

“We need to try and get a bit more depth for the club and hopefully try and convince a few guys playing in the Eastern Bay to come and give it a crack.

“We’ve got Cole Scott coming across each Tuesday and Thursday, putting in the hard work, and he’s been rewarded by being our starting halfback for the back end of the season.

“If we could get a few more players keen, we’d even look at trainings in Whakatāne as a thank you.

“It is all about creating competition for spots. I want to get us into a position where we can rotate players and give them a week off.”

He said they wanted to end the season on a high by defeating Te Puke.

“It would be great to give all of our fans and supporters at home something to smile about.

“We at least owe them a victory, and I know the boys will be hungry to do that.”

He said Te Puke would be a tricky side with some outstanding players but he hoped the crowd would get in behind them.

The development team game kicks off at 1pm.