Centre Caleb Henare scored a late try to keep Hikurangi ahead of the chasing pack by outpointing a promising Takahiwai Warriors.
The 28-24 win sees them increase their lead in the Whangarei and Districts rugby league competition after second-placed Hokianga stumbled in Kaitaia.
Hikurangi player-coach Joe Rau said any win was a good one at Takahiwai but it was anything but a controlled performance at times with the home side pushing them hard.
"They definitely had us pressing the panic button for a while and in the end we were pretty happy to come away with the points," he said.
Takahiwai were the first to score in the match before Hikurangi countered and the match continued in the same vein until Henare sealed the deal with his try in the final minutes of the match.