Sloan season 2026 review

Craig Barron was our best performer in a season that promised much but ultimately fell short.

After leading for much of the inter-club competition, we faded when it counted to finished fourth.

Still, this was Waahi Taakaro’s best effort since a third place in 2022 and followed three years of finishing a distant sixth.

Craig, with five wins and a loss, topped our standings, while his fellow junior Graeme Eggers wasn’t far behind with four wins and two losses.

Captain James Campion (five wins and three losses) and Keri Kotua (four wins, two halves and two losses) also enjoyed strong seasons. Pete Green (four wins and three losses) finished on the plus side of the ledger and Matt Tomczyk (two wins, one half and four losses) made a decent fist of his Sloan debut.

Four other players made cameos, including Andy Isle (one win), Andrew Craig (one win), Mark Clucas (one half and one loss) and Neil McLaren (two losses).

Our record of four team wins, three halves and one loss showed we were hard to beat but it was never going to be enough to claim the crown.

While there were good wins over eventual champion Takaka (6.5-2.5), Nelson, (8-1) Greenacres (9-0!) and Tasman (7-2) and a hard-fought draw against perennial challengers Motueka, we dropped vital points with disappointing draws against Totaradale and Murchison, two teams who finished well below us. Any title hopes we had were unceremoniously dashed when we were thrashed 8-5-0.5 by defending champion Golden Downs with three rounds to go.

Excellent team spirt, improved player availability and a consistent selection policy all contributed to a positive season, although we still lacked the hard-nosed consistency required to win the competition. This will only happen with more matchplay and tournament experience against tough opposition.

With smaller clubs like Golden Downs and now Takaka showing what is possible, we look forward to 2027 with renewed optimism.