22 v 16 
Manawatu’s slim hopes of a semi-final berth were given a boost after they defeated Northland 22-16 in Palmerston North on Friday.
The Turbos held strong against a late swing of momentum, triggered by a try to Northland replacement Derek Carpenter, and leapfrogged Otago to fourth place on the championship table.
Tries to Heiden Bedwell-Curtis (2) and Lewis Marshall had the home side sitting comfortably with an 11-point buffer before the late surge from the Taniwha. The defence displayed in the dying seconds will have no doubt made coach Jason O’Halloran proud.
With close to 500 points conceded between both sides this season, a try-scoring fest appeared to be on the cards. And despite the late flurry of five-pointers, what the FMG Stadium faithful got got in their final outing of the year was morsels of brilliance sprinkled on top of piles of amateur mistakes and scrum resets.
While there were no visible signs of difficult conditions, both sides struggled with ball control as the referee went about perfecting his scrum engagement calls.
A try to Whiria Melter was the highlight of an error-riddled opening 40 minutes during which Northland took an 11-7 lead.
The explosive winger cashed in on a piece of brilliance from flanker Dan Pryor, who set him away with an offload in traffic that would have made Sonny Bill Williams proud.
With so many errors being made, the match officials could be forgiven for missing one or two.
And Manawatu hooker Rob Foreman will certainly be grateful his dreadful lineout throw was not picked up. As play was allowed to continue, Bedwell-Curtis received the short feed then breezed down the right touch line to score in the corner.
The Taniwha was justifiably aggrieved, but made it count on the scoreboard with two penalty goals to first-five Daniel Hawkins.
Just as it looked as if the Turbos would hold onto a slender 7-6 lead at the break, Hawkins launched a deft crossfield kick that found its way to Pryor, who had the awareness to find his flying winger.
It was a glimpse of what Northland could have, and maybe should have, been doing all season. Rene Ranger alone is a force to be reckoned with but after rushing back from a shoulder injury to face Tasman last month, his impact was again kept to a minimum.
He eventually succumbed to the pain and made his exit at the turn of the final quarter.
And so, without any real momentum, the Turbos slugged it out through the middle until they were close enough for Bedwell-Curtis to slam the ball down over the line.
From there, Manawatu made all the running and stayed camped inside the attacking 22 where Te Rure made use of what looked to be a mistimed move to send Marshall across the whitewash.
The enterprising fullback bobbled the ball but had the composure to regather before touching down.
Carpenter gave the visitors a glimmer of hope with his late try, but when Mac Sykes fumbled inside the attacking 22 they were out of chances and slumped to their fifth straight defeat.
Manawatu: 22 (Heiden Bedwell-Curtis 2, Lewis Marshall tries; Jade Te Rure 2 con, pen)
Northland: 16 (Whiria Meltzer, Derek Carpenter tries; Daniel Hawkins 2 pen)
HT: 7-11
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