Raiders Remain Unbeaten

Hibiscus Coast Raiders maintained their unbeaten record in the Bartercard Cup national rugby league competition when they beat the Taranaki Wildcats 42-10 in New Plymouth.

Leading the competition with eight wins from eight games heading into the match, the Raiders raced out to a 14-0 lead with three tries in the opening six minutes.

Things didn't improve for the bottom of the table Wildcats in the first half.

The visitors continued to dominate and make the home side pay for some sloppy defence, adding a further four tries including a Richie Gilmour double to go to the break 36-0 ahead.

Whatever it was that Wildcats coach Alan Jackson said to his team at halftime, it sparked a revival.

After going close to scoring twice earlier only to lose the ball, the Wildcats finally got on the scoreboard with a Shane Hoskin try eight minutes into the second half.

Back came the Raiders, but the Wildcats defence held.

It was 32 minutes into the second spell before winger Reuben Enoka found a gap and scored his second try in the match for the Raiders.

The Wildcats were rewarded for a gutsy second half performance when Dylan Rameka followed up a kick through to run 50m and score under the crossbar.

Scores:

Hibiscus Coast 42 (R Enoka 3, R Gilmour 2, M Ashe, W Henare, C King tries; S Ata 5 goals)

Taranaki 10 (S Hoskin, D Rameka tries; Hoskin goal).