If Densham, who was suffering from the flu, had finished near Hewitt, the Australian would have pushed the Kiwi off the podium. But Hewitt's place on the dais could have already been secured had she not skipped three races in the eight-event season.
In the five races in which she did compete Hewitt's worst result was 11th, showing she hold the ability to race with the world's best on any given day.
That was true at the London Olympics, where Hewitt backed up her prospects as New Zealand's best medal hope before fading on the run to finish a disappointing sixth.
With the sport on these shores long being well-represented on the global stage by the likes of Docherty and Hamish Carter, Hewitt is now the main carrier of Kiwi hopes and she should continue in that role until the 2014 Olympics in Rio.
She would have won some new fans with her strong showing yesterday, as well as her victory in last year's World Cup race around the same course.
On Saturday, Hewitt was in the front group for virtually the whole race, until the pace kicked up on the last lap of the 10km run. She credited the crowd for helping her through to the finish, and said she tried to reward them with another victory.
"That was a tough last race for the season," she said. "That last lap was the toughest, and I put everything into it, but I didn't get the result I'd hoped for. "I felt good on the run and I tried to push at the start of the last lap, but I couldn't get there. I didn't have the legs today."
Her legs may have been hampered by a mishap at the final transition, where she ran by her bay and ended up losing about 10 seconds. But, regardless of the final result, Hewitt illustrated triathlon in New Zealand can still count on her after the departure of its two leading men.
