Northland put in a creditable performance at the National Scholastics Surfing Competition at Makorori Beach, coming home with a sixth-placed finish.
In a highly competitive field Northland were unable to improve on last year's fourth placing, with Bay of Plenty coming up trumps.
Max Brunker was a standout for Northland as he made his way to the Under 16 Boys final, eliminating a number of the country's top age group surfers on the way.
He had attacked the waves all week and ended with a solid fourth, only a point away from second which shows how close the competition was.
Manager Mark Pevats said Brunker had put up a great performance and that what the team needed was to have had a few more finalists to get into medal contention.