The absence of masterly goalkickers featured in North Harbour club rugby on Saturday, when Kumeu scored seven tries but converted only one in beating Mahurangi 37-0.
And luckless Northcote scored two tries to one but duffed five kickable shots at goal in going down 13-14 to East Coast Bays.
Trailing 3-8 afteran ordinary first half, Northcote produced a burst of exquisite rugby, moving the ball far and wide.
Wing Graham Smith scored one try, and Daniel Moore, a promising young fullback from the Waikato, another.
Time was almost up and Northcote led 13-11, but specialist goalkicker Kent Currie landed a penalty in injury time for the Bays win.
Kumeu's win featured hooker Tau Lupe, the centre of a powerful pack, scoring his fifth try in two matches.
Fullback George Manu and centre Sam Alatini also scored, but while Kumeu have so far relied on forward power, there was a hint of things to come when coach Phil Ridland signalled that four top backs would join the side on Saturday.
Helensville and Glenfield notched impressive wins, beating North Shore 27-20 and Silverdale 36-23 respectively, to share the competition lead with Kumeu, one point ahead of Takapuna, who scored 10 tries in beating Navy 67-0.
Glenfield produced a new but certainly not youthful combination in Walter Little at first five-eighths, Adrian Ferris at second five-eighths and Laurence Little at centre. The trio gelled, Ferris scoring a try and two drop goals.
Match officials had no hesitation calling a delay of 40 minutes during the Massey-Marist encounter, won 20-5 by Marist, after Massey No 8 Malua Tipi was injured in a scrum.
Massey coach Bill Haronga said yesterday that Tipi had been treated in hospital for a bruised spinal cord and pulled ligaments in his neck.
