"This performance has given us a platform to build on for the rest of the season and the belief that we can do it at this level."
With a climbing casualty ward, Northland FC brought in a number of 17th grade players to the reserve side which, in turn, affected the premier team.
Northland FC had to change their formation to accommodate the players they had available and with a top-three side in the competition staring them down from the other side of the pitch.
Despite all this, the visitors quickly gained the upper hand through the first quarter of the match as midfielders Joel Crawford, Kyle Levell and Andrew Dunn kept the side composed on either side of the ball.
However, Franklin showed why they are one of the leading sides so far in 2018 as they hit the lead at the half-hour mark.
Rinal Prasad was the benefactor of a shrewd move from the hosts, tapping home from close range.
However, Northland continued their charge forward and gained parity from a perfectly placed free kick from Levell as Russ headed his first goal of the afternoon.
Northland had worked incredibly hard to get themselves back into the contest but a poor error at the defensive end gave a free kick away on the edge of the box five minutes into the second spell.
Franklin's Cody Rickard stepped up and eased the ball into the net to regain the lead they lost late in the first half.
However, that buffer lasted all of three minutes as Russ fired a shot into the roof of the net after a scramble inside the box.
For the next 25 minutes the game became a battle of wills as neither side could break through committed defensive lines.
Goalkeeper Shane Stanners again came to the fore, pulling off an unlikely save with 30 minutes to play to maintain level pegging.
It quickly became a contest of who would break first and, luckily for the visitors, it was Franklin who conceded.
Captain Finn Diamond found open pasture as Levell connected with a through ball to set him free.
The young skipper casually chipped his shot over the surging goalkeeper to give them a 3-2 buffer with just 12 minutes to play.
Franklin tried to apply pressure in the search of an equaliser but it wasn't to be as the depleted Northlanders stepped up and handled their attacks with ease.
Russ confirmed the three points with a third during extra time, completing his second hattrick in the young season.
Northland FC are at home to entertain Papakura City on Saturday at Tikipunga AFC.
Meanwhile all Northland senior club football was postponed because of poor weather.
In a post on their Facebook page on Saturday morning, Northern Football Federation said "due to the amount of rain overnight and more forecast to come during today and with driving conditions worsening and flooding being reported all Northland Senior League games today are postponed".
