CarCo the Mako says
Hi Makos FINatics. Game 2 and our first home match under our belts sees your mighty Tasman Makos with maximum points and on top of the table. We all know it’s only early days, and that the team isn’t yet firing on all cylinders, however to achieve a couple of bonus point victories when a bit rusty augurs well for the season.
Now it’s Blenheim’s turn to come out and watch the boys play at Lansdowne Park this Thursday evening against Manawatu. Gates open at 6pm and there will be some live music, coffee food and drinks to get you primed for the kick-off at 7.35pm.
I had a great time meeting the fans on Friday night. You can check out my photos here.
The match itself against Bay of Plenty was a tough battle. The Steamers were full of vigour and seemed intent on unsettling us at every opportunity, be it a scrum time, at the breakdown or in the tackle. At the after-match function their skipper confirmed this was the plan but that, in the end, the Makos class and ability won the day.
Some good lead up work by the forwards, and a nice inside ball by Marty Banks, saw number 8 Liam Squire go over very early for the opening try, converted by Marty. Thoughts of a flood of points evaporated however as the Steamers got stuck in to take us on in an arm wrestle. Losing prop Ross Geldenhuys for 10 minutes in the sin bin didn’t help our cause any either. At the end of the cooling off period the coaches actions spoke louder than words.
Just before half-time centre Kieron Fonotia threw a FINtastic long skip pass that gave winger Mitchell Scott the space to get on the outside of his opposite to score a great try in the corner. Marty again nailed the conversion and the Makos went to oranges ahead by 14 – 3.
The second half featured a lot of kicking for field position by both teams. Finally some momentum close to the line saw Fonotia dive over beside the sticks, making the Marty conversion a formality.
With time almost up Fonotia again threw a lovely wide pass to put flanker Pete Samu into space. He then turned on the after-burners to scorch into the clear and cross over in the corner. Marty accepted the challenge and slotted the conversion to put the icing on a hard earned 34 – 13 victory.
FINAL WHISTLE: Tasman 34 (Liam Squire, Mitchell Scott, Kieran Fonotia, Pete Samu tries; Marty Banks 2 pen, 4 con) v Bay of Plenty 13 (Zac Hohneck try; Nick Evemy pen, con, Dan Hollinshead pen). HT 14-3.
At the debrief meeting on Monday, prop Tim Perry was picked by his team mates and coaching staff as our Makoman against Bay of Plenty, with a one in 12 chance of a trip for 2 to Paris thanks to Mondo Travel & Air France.
No. 8 Liam Squire was chosen by the coaches as their Man of Steel for his work on defence.
So now our attention moves to the first ITM Cup home game in Blenheim on Thursday night against Manawatu. Gates open at 6pm when we will be having an After Work Party with a live band “Tropic of Booyah”, lots of food, coffee and beverage stalls.
The boys will really appreciate you loud and passionate support.
The best bet as always is to pre-purchase your tickets before getting to the ground.
Ticketing outlets this season are Floorpride Civic Theatre in Blenheim, Nelson i-Site, Richmond Mall and your nearest NBS branch or you can buy easily online at www.makos.co.nz .
For ITM Cup, even though RWCA Kids 12 Years & Younger are Free they will need to be ticketed with a paying customer (4 kids per adult) so we can keep track of our attendance data and keep everyone safe and accounted for.
I’ll see you there at Shark Park on Friday week.
Fins Up! CarCo the Mako
CarCo the Mako is proudly supported by the The Car Company and will be at community and other sporting events throughout the season as well as at all home matches.
