Pirates get the booty

JASON OXENHAM

WHAT A WIN: The Pt Chevalier Pirates celebrate their impressive turnaround this season.

JASON OXENHAM

CHAMPION RESULT: Pt Chevalier Pirates captain Quincy Ikifana lifts the Phelan Shield after defeating the Otara Scorpions in the club rugby league final at Mt Smart Stadium.

Relevant offers

IN JUST one season the Pt Chevalier Pirates league club has been transformed from easybeats into Phelan Shield champions.

The Pirates are led by co-coaches Stacey Jones and Awen Guttenbeil. They won the third division title after defeating the Otara Scorpions 37-12 at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday.

It's a huge turnaround for the team that finished last in the 2009 competition.

Jones and Guttenbeil both played for the club as youngsters. Jones is pleased they've played a part in changing the team's fortunes.

"It's been a great year for us and everyone involved at the club. We've achieved what we wanted to do in terms of results."

The former Kiwis captain says he and Guttenbeil will be back next year with promotion to a higher division set to provide new challenges.

"It wouldn't be the right thing to do, to do it for one year then walk away," he says.

Whether Jones takes the field for Pt Chevalier, as he has this season, is yet to be seen.

"First and foremost, I'm there to coach, not play.

"As it turned out I played more than I would have liked this year. We'll wait and see what happens next year."

The future of other high-profile players like Wairangi Koopu and Monty Betham is also uncertain and Jones says there will have to be more focus on developing younger players.

"Our under-15 and under-17 teams made the playoffs. They are the key guys we really need to keep."

Jones and Guttenbeil have fronted the club's revival. But Jones says there's been plenty of other support from Pirates fans.

"It's not just me and Awen – other people have got in behind it. It's very rewarding that other people have helped us out."

Team captain Quincy Ikifana says the impact of Jones and Guttenbeil on the team has been amazing.

"Having Awen and Stacey there, you knew whatever they said was always going to be in the right area.

"They were so humble and down-to-earth during the year. A lot of the boys are 17 or 18 years old – for them to have Awen and Stacey there was great."

The 32-year-old says there was a family atmosphere at the club after the match, with supporters performing a haka and putting on a meal for the team.

Meanwhile, in the Fox Memorial first division competition reigning champions the Mt Albert Lions lost to the Otahuhu Leopards 22-18 and the East Coast Bays Barracudas thumped the Bay Roskill Vikings 34-4 in the second-tier Sharman Cup.

- © Fairfax NZ News