For Portland, the win takes them into third place and would go a long way to building their confidence as legitimate title contenders.
In 2014 they showed potential but often stumbled in the final 10 minutes of big games.
Their recent form in the last three weeks has seen them beat both Moerewa and Takahiwai at home while they lost narrowly to Hokianga away.
Hikurangi and Otangarei round out the top five. Otangarei were the fortunate recipients of four extra points last week when they won an appeal against Hikurangi from their round one loss for Hikurangi fielding an unregistered player.
They also benefited from Hokianga playing an unregistered player in their round three loss.
Both games are now registered as wins for the Knights.
Rounding out the top six are the Northern Wairoa Bulls, who have a superior points differential over Muriwhenua and Hokianga, with the three clubs each sitting on six points.
The Bulls narrowly lost in the weekend in an epic Rugby League match against the Muriwhenua Falcons.
Both teams traded tries before the match was turned on its head with a scintillating 100m try, set up by Te Puhi Rudolph who gathered a kick from in his own in goal - first he fended
the first defender with the biggest fend of the century, then he ducked and weaved through the Bulls.
With Kerikeri's withdrawal from the competition, the Horahora Broncos sit alone on the bottom of the table with only two points. However their form has shown that they can still be in consideration for a top six finish.
