Ōpōtiki’s premier and development teams will be playing for their respective championship trophies this weekend.

The premier men scored an impressive 62-13 over Rūātoki last weekend at Princess Street Reserve.

A hat-trick of tries to flanker Te Awaitaia Rolls and doubles to try-scoring machine Braeden Elmiger and speedy outside back Tamarau Karepa shows they spread the ball a lot.

They scored 10 tries all up in what was an impressive performance.

It was Ōpōtiki’s 10th successive win in a season they have dominated.

While Rūātoki toiled hard for the entire 80 minutes, they were unable to stop a powerful all-round Ōpōtiki team who used their big forwards to get good go-forward, kicked for possession well and then gave their speedy backs the ball with plenty of space.

Coach Tuterangi Te Moana is proud the club has two teams playing in the final this weekend.

“It was an awesome semifinals weekend for us at Ōpōtiki Sports with both our men’s teams heading through to the finals.

Our senior A’s did well to clinch the win right on the last play and that really set the tone for our premier team.”

Te Moana was also full of praise for Rūātoki.

“I was very impressed with Rūātoki who came prepared with a game plan that challenged our attack out wide. Credit also to their scrum and their heads-up counterattack, which earned them the first points of the game.”

He said the hard work his team was doing off the field was paying dividends on the park.

“Our team have put in a lot of hard work this year and it’s great to be in the position we’re in.

“We’re tracking well, but we’re just happy that we get to go another week and we’ll have the chance to hopefully put on another awesome performance and bring it home for our whānau, club and supporters.”

Ōpōtiki are excited to meet Paroa in both finals as they’ve had cracking contests against them during the season.

“Looking to the final, I’m expecting Paroa to come into this game with a lot of flare from the backs, a well-rounded skill set throughout, a tactical kicking game and no doubt plenty of heart and want. They’ve already proven earlier this season that anything’s possible and that’s something we’re well aware of.”

Te Moana said it had been a proud season for Ōpōtiki Sports, and they hoped to finish it with a couple of trophies.

“All in all, I think that having our two senior men’s teams in the finals and our women’s team reaching their semifinal is a huge achievement, not only for Ōpōtiki Sports but for our town.

“We’ll be taking that with us this weekend and if all goes well then, we’ll get to bring it home.”

Ōpōtiki development made it into their final with a 43-41 win over Rūātoki thanks to two tries each to Hasley Howe and Shaun Gebert.

Development team player-coach Kevin Waterson said they were pleased to keep their goal alive.

“Anyone will be stoked to make the final this year, or any year to be honest.

“It’s been a lot closer competition between the top four teams this year in the development grade, a testament to all the well-drilled talented youth coming through the ranks and flooding the local rugby scene.

“The Youth Development Cup is a good tool to keep our young ones in the game longer after leaving school.”

He said Paroa would be a cracking contest in the final.

“We drew the first round in Ōpōtiki, and Paroa beat us in the second round in another comeback game at Lawson Park.

“We started both games strong, but Paroa finished stronger in the second half with both encounters, which made the difference in both clashes.”

Waterson’s side just want to produce a consistent performance across the park because the talent and potential is there.

“We’re just looking forward to playing some good quality rugby and staying focused with our game plan for the full 80 minutes.

“Both teams have a good solid mix of experienced old boys and young exciting talent in the squads respectively, so it’s definitely going to be another crowd-pleasing clash for the ages, especially with both teams setting the tone for their premier teams to follow.”

Ōpōtiki’s development side are in their fourth straight final, an impressive achievement.

“As a team, we set out a goal for four in row, but more so we wanted to blood some youth into adult rugby and let them build confidence playing with men.

“It’s been some good growth for our club, so we’ve already accomplished good things as a team.

“Personally, I just want to lead my team again and my two boys out for one last hoorah, have some fun, earn some beers, then throw my bloody boots in the bin.”

Ōpōtiki development and Paroa development kick off finals day at 12.30pm on field 2 at Rugby Park, before Waimana face Matatā on field one at 1pm and then the main game Ōpōtiki and Paroa kicking off at 2.45pm.

Expect the sidelines to be full of people dressed in black to support Paroa and blue and green to support Ōpōtiki in what will be three cracking finals.