Northland are promising to leave everything on the paddock tomorrow when they meet frontrunners Hawke's Bay in the last ITM Cup home game of the 2011 season.
Although they are now out of the running for a top two finish on the championship table, the fifth-placed Northland have much to prove. "The boys will be putting in a huge effort and we're really hoping for a performance the fans can be proud of ... there's been too many times we have let ourselves down but we want to get out there and play and make no excuses," Taniwha head coach Adriaan Ferris said.
It has been a tumultuous season for Northland, who have shown they are able to beat the best teams in the competition yet have also folded to teams they could have beaten.
Ferris was the first to admit some losses were due to unforced errors by his side, but Northland's 33-26 loss to North Harbour on Saturday left a sour taste in his mouth as referee Keith Brown made some inconsistent decisions, leaving Northland to ponder what ifs.
North Harbour's second win of the competition saw any chance of Northland making it into the top two of the standings slip from their grasp.
"We were hugely frustrated with the refereeing on Saturday and we have highlighted specific incidents where we felt we didn't get the rub of the green. We have put it in a report and will let the NZRU deal with it. It's not going to change the result but we feel these inconsistencies should be looked at," Ferris said.
Brown was busy during the match dishing out 16 penalties in the first spell, but it was his decision in the 59th minute which caused Northland the most angst.
"Aaron Bancroft got taken out by Ben Botica before he had possession of the ball and was not penalised for it where as when Ash Moeke tackled Lelia Masaga in the game against Bay of Plenty in exactly the same fashion he was sinbinned for 10 minutes," Ferris said.
Having an opposing player - let alone Botica, who kicked three conversions and four penalties on Saturday - sinbinned for 10 minutes would have made a world of difference, considering the intensity at which Northland were attacking at the crucial stage of the game, Ferris said.
"We are frustrated with what has happened ... for now we will park it and focus on Wednesday's game."
Northland's injury toll continued to creep upwards on Saturday as they lost Cam Goodhue, whose season is over after he suffered a serious concussion.
It was a blow to the team who have already lost the likes of Rene Ranger, Dan Pryor and Marty Veale. But on a positive note it has meant local players have had a chance to get a decent run at national provincial championship level, the coach said.
With just tomorrow night's game and Saturday's match against Counties Manukau in Pukekohe remaining, Ferris said the goal remained the same - "take each game one at a time, and continue learning."
Meanwhile, Hawkes Bay Magpies coach Peter Russell said his side, who are tied first with Manawatu, were starting to feel the effects of the intense competition.
"But we're holding up okay. Everyone is in the same boat; we will take stock at training after Sunday's game and look to name our team today," Russell said.
After a couple of dodgy losses earlier in the season, Russell said his side were on track, looking for a berth in the championship final and promotion into the premiership division.
"We plan to come up there and play the best we can and get the result we want," he said.
"We won't be underestimating Northland. We expect nothing less than a top effort from the Taniwha at home. They have been unlucky with some of their results this season."
Tomorrow's ITM Cup Championship clash between Northland and Hawke's Bay kicks off at 6.05pm, at Toll Stadium.