With a quarter-final berth as a reward, the Counties Manukau Steelers won for the fifth time in five starts to beat Tasman 49-41 in Nelson on Sunday.
It means Reon Graham’s side will face Canterbury in the quarter-finals next weekend.
After a tough start to their campaign, riddled with injury, a couple of poor performances and some bad luck with refereeing, the Steelers sat in second last place with an 0-5 record before winning five straight games.
They started slowly on Sunday before taking control of the match and racing out to a comfortable lead. They were forced to hold on as Tasman came home strong but in the end it was enough.
Adam Brash continued his phenomenal season with a hat-trick, while Etene Nanai-Seturo was dangerous as well and scored two tries.
“I’m extremely proud of the team again this week,” Graham said.
“Tasman are a quality side and a tough place to win. We showed when we play our game we are dangerous.
“Pleased to get into the quarters two years running but we are determined to do better than last year.
“Some big work ons going into the next game as we take on the top-of-the-table Canterbury side.”
