Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

While rugby is Sideline Sid's winter sporting passion, he also takes an interest in the New Zealand Warriors in the hotbed of the NRL.

With the Warriors playing the Canterbury Bulldogs at Waikato Stadium deep in Mooloo country on Sunday, it was a no brainer to make the short trip over the Kaimai Ranges to catch the action.

However, in the complexities of today's professional sport, the encounter was deemed a home game for the Bulldogs, in spite of the majority of the 17,000-crowd supporting the Warriors.

The curtain-raiser between the two sides' Under 20's squads was a see-saw battle with the Bulldogs nailing a drop goal in the dying seconds of the match to snatch a 31-30 victory.

Bizarre is the only word to describe the Bulldogs' home game in NZ. In the build-up to the main event, former Warrior's inspirational captain Steve Price – who played for the Bulldogs before crossing the ditch – was introduced to the crowd as a Bulldogs legend with no reference to his outstanding Warriors performances.

The sideline signage was Bulldogs all the way, with constant broadcasting of the Bulldogs sponsors and upcoming events. The ground announcer was cajoling the crowd to yell for the Bulldogs and it's the first game I've been to where most of the crowd booed the home team as they ran onto the field.

The game was certainly up for grabs at half-time with the Warriors leading 6-4. However, the Bulldogs were given room to make a plenty of offloads in the second spell and went on to post a hard-fought 16-12 win.

Waikato Stadium is a terrific rugby venue with spectators right on top of the action. The two big stands on either side of the field give uninterrupted views, with cheaper seating options at either end of the field. The stadium was revamped in 2002 and has a seating capacity of 25,000 with the Sunday league crowd providing real atmosphere.

However, while Sideline Sid enjoyed his day at the rival code, there's nothing he enjoys more than an afternoon at the local club rugby.

On Saturday he was at Blake Park to watch Mount Maunganui go to battle with Rotorua heavyweights Whakarewarewa. With both sides sitting in the top four entering the clash, the formbook suggested a close contest. Obviously, the Mount side didn't read the form guide as they scored their first try in the opening minutes and led throughout to post an emphatic 43-24 win.

Saturday signaled the half-way stage of the Baywide premier competition with the end of the first round. While Te Puke Sports took out the first round trophy, their match-up with near neighbours Rangiuru showed the evenness of the 2014 Baywide premier title race.

Rangiuru belied their place at the bottom of the standings to lead Te Puke by five points at the break, with Te Puke Sports having to pull out all the stops to post a 21-15 win.