"Hopefully it won't be too long before I'm back playing for Northland. I've signed for three years and I should be back after that but we'll have to see what happens," he said.
Ranger signed off in style, scoring the Taniwhas' first try and making several rousing busts, enthralling the crowd each time he got hold of the ball.
Two Mateo Malupo bursts of pace in each half saw the winger grab a double allowing the locals to get ahead and although the Bay sought to come back in the second spell, stout defence kept them at arm's length.
The win consigned North Harbour to the wooden spoon in the championship division and sent a decent crowd of more than 3000 home with a smile on their faces.
"I'm pretty happy to finally get the win," Ranger said. "It's been a long time coming but I'm pretty proud of the boys to get the win for the fans."
Northland again showed why they had also only won one match before Saturday.
While they showed good desperation on defence, they couldn't capitalise on several clean breaks that might have had them 20 points clear of the Bay by halftime.
"It wasn't really our season but I still enjoyed it we've got a great team culture but in the end things just haven't gone our way," Ranger said.
The 27-year-old turned down an All Black jersey early this season with a new baby enticing him to stay close to home and play for the Taniwha.
Teammate Ross Wright said the whole team was determined to see Ranger off with a win.
"He's been at the heart of this team for a number of years now and he's going to be a big loss but it's not all bad news," he said
Wright who played with Ranger at Wellsford for years before stepping up into the representative ranks said his influence in an inexperienced squad - with 14new players - this year has been invaluable.
