Our North Harbour Senior Men's Team (Turtles) have just finished their 2024 National League Campaign with a silver medal, going down to Tauranga in a thrilling final match.

This season our men had some new faces join from USA in Jake Taylor and Ty Case, as well as some old faces in Tim Grace and Dylan Smith rejoin the team. More new comers to the Turtles this year were Tony Tua-Tagaloa, Cameron Foster, Cole Phillips and home grown talent Matthew Leadbeater. Coaching the team for the first time was superstar duo Nemanja Radjen and Jake Bennet, while Brandon Matthews was the captain for the 2024 Season. Our full squadlist can be found here.

The Turtles had an interesting round robin period, claiming one win from each team but also losing a game to each team, ending the regular season with a 50% win rate. Having an even record meant our Men knew they would need to rally for the Finals Weekend, and rally they did.

On Saturday 27th July, the Turtles met the Hutt Heat in the National League semi finals. The game started in 5th gear, with both teams scoring a flurry of goals. After the dust settled, the Hutt Heat were able to pull ahead, leading 11-9 at the end of the third quarter, and extending their lead to 13-9 in the fourth. One thing the Turtles have been known for historically is being a team that never gives up - and this group of men is no different. The goals started coming for Harbour, with the boys going on a 5-0 run thanks to the efforts of Flynn Howarth, Oli Pritchard, Jake Taylor and James Catlin. The Turtles took their first lead in what felt like forever with 25 seconds remaining on the clock, and after a nervy final defence, managed to secure the ball and their place in the final!

The next day, Sunday 28th of July was the first time a Turtles team had been in a National League Final since 2018, against the Tauranga Taniwhas. The AUT Millennium was packed to the rafters with fans - who were in for a spectacle. Tauranga started the game incredibly well, rushing out to a 4-1 lead through a combination of great shooting and intelligent entry passes to their centre forward. Our boys collected themselves, and managed to bring it back to 4-3 at the end of the first. In the second quarter, the momentum shifted as the Taniwha's centre forward was excluded from the game, and our boys felt they had a brilliant chance. The rest of the game was neck and neck, with spectators on the edge of their seats. Some incredible defence from both sides saw the scores remain relatively low, 7-5 to Tauranga at the end of the third. The eventually MVP of the tournament, Bae Fountain of Tauranga, had an incredible last quarter to lock our men out of their chance, with the game eventually finishing at 6-9 to Tauranga.

A massive congratulations to all of our Turtles for their performances over this season. A special thanks go to Manager Megan Brown, Coach Nemanja Radjen and Assistant Jake Bennet. Our season would not have been the success it was without the support of our Major Sponsor - Tristram MG, thanks for all your support this season. To all those who came and supported us throughout the season, it was much appreciated - and we hope to see you poolside next season. 

Article added: Wednesday 31 July 2024  Add