The surprises kept coming in the final round of Whangarei City and Districts Rugby League competition, one week before the playoffs.
There was still plenty to strive for, with several teams contesting the fourth semifinal berth on August 1.
Kaikohe outmuscled and outplayed Portland, thrashing them 40-18 - a turnaround from their
round one encounter where Portland crushed Kaikohe 44-28.
Portland coach Craig Bird had nothing but praise for Kaikohe, who were boosted by their new jerseys.
"They played with a lot more enthusiasm than us" he said.
"They were a big team who had a lot to play for and we just couldn't stop what they were doing out there ... they steamrolled us."
Despite the loss, Portland are through to the semifinals, completing the round robin in second spot.
"We are really looking forward to being in the semis - we'll go to training this week and re-evaluate where we are at," Bird said.
Kaikohe's victory earned the team two points but whether it will be enough for them to claim fourth will be determined in the boardroom tomorrow, when the committee meet to discuss point discrepancies, games in hand and to tie up any loose ends.
Bay Slayers are still locked in next to Kaikohe after the final round. The Slayers also won on Saturday at Otangarei, racking up a hefty 68-12 scoreline against City Knights.
Meanwhile, Moerewa travelled to Takahiwai to defend their top spot on the table and did so, upsetting the hosts, 30-20.
Takahiwai, in third, still have a game in hand against City Knights but whether it needs to be contested will also be decided at tomorrow's meeting.
Either way, Moerewa and Takahiwai will line up on Saturday for semifinals.
Hikurangi travelled to Wairoa but were disappointed when Wairoa defaulted, which was a great shame, manager Jim Lees said.
Lees was certain his team will also feature in the play-offs on Saturday.
"While we still got the two points, we could have done with the game heading into semifinals," he said.
Hikurangi played their game in hand against City Knights last week and won, which put them two points clear of Bay Slayers and Kaikohe, into fourth, he said.
With the points from the defaulted game, Hikurangi remained clear in fourth, but until the committee meeting, nothing was definite about the fourth semifinal berth.
