"[Athletic] said after the game they enjoyed playing it," said player-coach Colleen Baylis, who did not like the fact she had to do extra work on defence in the back field, as her team was being "too casual".
"We played the better structured hockey, and then I think we let ourselves down with their goals.
"They were trying to break into the Top 4, and what's behind us is congested.
"We were always in control of the game, just the softness of what we were doing let ourselves down."
Melissa Goff and Sophie Redmayne both scored doubles, while former Black Stick Robbie Matthews, Kirsty Parsons and Charlotte Baker also got on the score sheet.
The five-team championship draw does not provide ideal preparations for Whanganui heading into the playoffs, as they will take the bye this weekend, before their last round robin game, and then another weekend break before the playoffs.
Meanwhile, Tech College Old Boys confirmed they will avoid the Premier Men's wooden spoon after a 2-0 away win over bottom of the table neighbours Palmerston North Boys High at the Twin Turfs.
Having had an uneven four weeks with their scheduled bye being followed by a match and then the middle school holiday weekend break for all teams, TCOB still took a strong squad of 14 down the road with only Tyler Nicoll-Hylton unavailable.
Kaelin Mooney scored their opening goal in the first quarter off a decent team buildup, and then standout Lee Moir, who usually has to do dashes down the sideline by himself to create opportunities, extended their lead in the third quarter.
Moir received a cross that came all the way to the back post, a rarity this season, and made sure of the goal by smashing the ball as hard as he could despite the close range.
"It was a game of what should have been," said senior player Calum Wilbur.
"It should have been 6-0 or 7-0, and I got stressed as [PNBHS] had the ball in the last 6-7 minutes."
"It was just that final shot again that let us down.
"That result shows where we are and where the teams above us are – they'll beat that team by seven or eight goals."
Having beaten PNBHS in both their matches this season, TCOB have only managed to pick up a draw from their other eight games.
They will meet table leaders College A (7-1-2) in their next match this Saturday at the Twin Turfs, which will be followed by the last game against MCOB down in Levin, where the team will likely hire a coach bus as the longest away match also doubles as TCOB's annual social outing.
Then will be the time to start the analysis over what is not clicking for the club in the top Manawatu grade, which includes the lack of a non-playing coach this season, with the senior players looking to bring a plan for 2019 to Hockey Wanganui.
