Star Northland rugby back Rene Ranger came on in the second half and made an immediate impact, but couldn't help the Taniwha come away with a win against Auckland in an ITM Cup pre-season game on Sunday night.
Each side scored four tries at the Ponsonby Rugby Club in Western Springs, but the big-city team came away with a 37-26 win, thanks to superior goalkicking.
Northland team manager Brad Te Haara said the game gave a good indication of just how far the Northland team still needed to progress before the ITM Cup season, which kicked off on August 17, with Northland taking on Waikato in a Ranfurly Shield challenge.
Te Haara said after the game it looked as if the Taniwha were on the right track, but there was still work to be done.
"We're fairly happy with how the team went [on Sunday] and while we wanted to win it was a good indication of where we are at," he said.
"It's about getting better now."
Auckland were 14-0 up after 20 minutes before Jack Ram got the first try for Northland in the 23rd minute.
Ranger announced last week he wouldn't be playing for the All Blacks again for personal reasons, instead he aimed to concentrate on captaining the Taniwha in this ITM CUp season.
He came off the bench early in the second half, making an immediate impact. Ranger crashed into Kara Pryor and offloaded to Andrew Kavienga for the third Northland try, to make the score 30-19 with 20 minutes to go.
But Ranger's impact couldn't stop defeat.
The victory came at a cost for Auckland, however, with six players injured. Nathan Vella, Calvary Fonoti and Wayne Ngaluafe were concussed, and Simon Hickey and Kara Pryor sprained ankles.
Veteran No8 Peter Saili was the cause of the greatest concern, however, collecting a heavy blow to the chest and abdomen and being taken to hospital to ensure he did not have a spleen injury.
Blues wing George Moala's class was evident for much of the game as he made some telling breaks and finished off some expansive counter-attacking play to cross for Auckland in the final quarter of the game.
Northland had the final say, though, as Viliami Taukiuvea scored with two minutes remaining, narrowing the deficit to 37-26.
Auckland 37 (Patrick Tuipulotu, Tenina Sauileoge, Kara Pryor, George Moala tries; Simon Hickey 2 con, 2 pen, Calvary Fonoti pen, con, Sauileoge con)
Northland 26 (Jack Ram, Mateo Malupo, Andrew Cavienga, Viliami Taukiuvea tries; Ben Seymour con, Daniel Hawkins 2 con). Halftime: Auckland 17-12