The third try of Brook Gilmore's Harding Shield hat-trick turned out to be the key that got Whangarei out of jail in their match against Mangonui.
Gilmore ran a nice inside line to score the winning try, leading to a 36-32 win in their first game of the three-round competition.
Whangarei coach Mark Seymour said he was pleased with the heart the team displayed after they trailed on the scoreboard well into the final quarter.
"We got out of jail ... we were nine points down with 15 minutes to go, by no means out of it but the boys might have let it slide, instead they showed plenty of ticker and team spirit to come back and win," he said.
It was a long way short of a perfect performance and a second half double by one of Mangonuis speedy wingers, Filipo Nakosi, saw the home team grab the advantage in the second half of the match at Arnold Rae Park in Kaitaia.
Whangarei started with an early try but then made a series of errors including a poor pass that led to a Matt Tauatagaloa intercept try - which encouraged the home side and kept them in the game.
The game continued to see-saw with Whangarei just ahead at the break, 22-17, before the Mangonui outside backs were given space in the second spell to forge ahead.
Mangonui manager Adrian Jones said his players were kicking themselves after the match.
"We're happy with how we played in general, particularly with the way Mangonui have travelled over the last few years, but we had them right there for the taking but we let it slip so we were pretty disappointed."
He said a couple of ill-directed kicks late in the game had given Whangarei the opportunity to get back into the lead and they had executed a good comeback.
The early match at Arnold Rae Park was a more one-sided encounter which saw Northern Wairoa-Rodney defeat Bay of Islands 38-0.
The next round of games is at Kaikohe on June 7, followed by the final round at Whangarei on June 28.
