"We just couldn't hold on. There was a little bit of inexperience from our younger guys, plus mistakes and fatigue," said Rikiti.
With minutes to go, Taupo got a controversial try from what Rikiti described as a "blatant" forward pass. However, he didn't use that as an excuse. "At the end of the day, we should never have let them back in the game."
Rikiti said he was proud of his side's journey and it was onwards and upwards as they prepared for the Waicoa Bay competition.
The Otumoetai Eels cemented their spot at the top of the table with a clinical 46-14 victory over a Central side that has struggled all season.
The Rotorua team stayed with their more fancied opponents throughout the first half at Puketawhero Park, after the Eels' Matty Mason crossed for a try just nine minutes into the game. Central struggled to convert possession into points, whereas the visitors seized their chance in the 20th minute when Hamuera Brooky glided through weak defence to score.
The home side then staged a mini comeback with two tries to livewire halfback Ypres Williams, making a welcome return from injury. But minutes from halftime, Ryan Gordon scored from a cross kick to give the Eels a 16-10 lead.
The home fans may have thought an upset was on the cards, but Otumoetai showed their class to score five second-half tries to just one from Central.
Otumoetai coach Brett Rodger said he was just happy to come away with a win after his side's "patchy" first-half performance.
"We gave them too much ball and we were doing too much tackling, but in the second half we started completing sets and ran away with it a little bit in the end," he said. "We had to work pretty hard, it wasn't our best performance, but we got the points."
With three months to the grand final match-up, he said the team would now focus on the Waicoa Bay competition, which gets underway in two weeks time.
"It will be a big step up intensity-wise and they play 12 interchange so that will make a difference to a few sides," he said. "Hopefully we'll make the finals of the Waicoa Bay and then see what happens from there."
Central player/coach Walker said it was the same old story for his team, injuries, lack of players and trouble getting players to training not helping their on-field performance.
In the other premier match, Forestland beat Tauranga 32-18 at Grenada Park to finish fifth, while Pacific had the bye and the automatic two points. The top-four finishers - Otumoetai, Pacific, Pikiao and Taupo - now have a week off before the Waicoa Bay competition begins.
