Celtic’s challenge greater than Challenge Shield
By Jared Smith
Remember, Kings come and Kings go but one thing remains the same. And that is me.
- Cardinal Richelieu, The Three Musketeers (1993)
While the limelight of Tasman Tanning Senior shown on the Ratana Pa last weekend as Kelso Hunterville won the battle of the undefeated teams, a match of equal importance was slogged out in the mud of Spriggens Park.
Ali Arc Logistics-DNA Kennel Marist Celtic pulled themselves up to win the derby with Gemini Pepper Construction Kaierau 19-5, thereby leap-frogging them into third place and building a gap on the team’s sitting fifth and sixth with two games remaining.
Finalists last year, where the only team to beat them narrowly was Harvey Round Motors Ratana twice, it is so typical for Celtic to always be near the top, consistently making playoffs, only to run into the buzzsaw of any given campaign – be it a Hunterville, Ratana, Settler’s Honey Ngamatapouri (now in Premier) or the-then strong Speirs Food Marton.
Celtic meet the current iteration of Marton at their domain this Saturday, getting a chance to be the fourth owner of the Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield in as many weeks, after Marton upset Utiku Old Boys 29-19 in Taihape last weekend.
“We’ve been kind of just tracking under the radar,” said Celtic coach Duane Brown.
“With Marton this week, we’re not looking at it as a Shield game, it’s do the job and make the semis.
“If you don’t scramble on D, they’ll hurt you.”
Having lost nine players from last year’s campaign to injuries or promotion into their club’s Premier squad, Saturday’s win over Kaierau was a great display of character on an afternoon where forwards got caked in mud and struggled to distinguish friend from foe.
“If they’re running the other way, you had to tackle them,” said Brown.
“It sure was pretty muddy alright; it rained the whole 80 minutes.
“Physical first half, Kaierau probably had most of the ball. If you count how many times we made it into their half, it was probably two.
“Defence won the game, at the end of the day.”
Scoreless at halftime, Marist knew the first team to register points would set the tone, and it was lock Caleb ‘Maps’ Jones – so nicknamed because he apparently gets lost before trainings – scored off a pick-and go.
Another Jones bust saw workhorse veteran Ross Pui toe the ball ahead to score, and then talented new halfback Kobe Millar, who debuted for Celtic alongside his father last year, dotted down to make them safe.
Celtic’s losses this year have been at home to Ratana (30-3) and then away to fifth-placed Bennett’s Taihape (27-17), losing the Challenge Shield they could now regain.
In between times, they have racked up wins over Border (16-14), McCrea Scanning Counties (40-0), Marist Buffalo’s (29-12), Ruapehu (54-7), Utiku Old Boys (23-5), Black Bull Liquor Pirates (40-24) and Kaierau.
The Senior draw is
June 26, 1pm kickoffs (times subject to change): Taihape vs Pirates, Memorial Park 1; Marton vs Celtic, Marton Park; Hunterville vs Buffalos, Hunterville Domain; Kaierau vs Utiku Old Boys, Country Club; Counties vs Ratana, McNab Domain; Ruapehu vs Border, Rochfort Park.
