Northland overpowered Waikato 38-28 in a thriller at Semenoff Stadium in Whangārei tonight to get their Bunnings Warehouse NPC season on the winning track.
Wing Jone Macilai, Kara Pryor, Sam Nock, Tamati Tua, and Sam McNamara dotted down for the Taniwha in a enthralling display of attack and defence in equal measure, to the delight of a small but vocal crowd.
Northland could have scored at least three but for a couple of knock-ons by skipper Jordan Olsen close to the tryline and Macilai whose foot went into touch before grounding the ball.
The performance was befitting for Rene Ranger who not only played his 100th game for the Cambridge Blue but put in a man-of-the-match display in front of family and friends.
For Waikato, they were left to rue unforced errors and a lack of finishing at times that forced them to chase the game the entire time.
