But after Tom Lynagh’s penalty with three minutes to play had put the Reds in front, a heroic defensive stand on their own line ended with the Chiefs held up over the line, denied for the first time this campaign.
It was an appropriate way for the match to conclude, as 27 phases of toil from the home side came to nothing.
The Chiefs came into the clash boasting the best attack in the competition but the Reds defended with a resoluteness that belied their middling record.
They tackled with determination, discipline and physicality, frustrating a much-changed home side who were well short of their best in their first trip to Yarrow Stadium since 2017.
The Chiefs were guilty of over-playing their hand in possession, compounded by a skillset that was short of their exemplary standards. With Damian McKenzie enduring an off night and too often settling for the sideways option, the leaders struggled for direction and rarely found a way through their inspired opposition.
What the Reds lacked in imagination in possession, they made up for with an attack that thrived off the set piece, driving the Chiefs back before showing enough variety in their decision-making to score four tries.
That proved too much for the Chiefs to overcome, having made nine alterations to the side who cruised past the Highlanders last week.
A similarly dominant performance looked likely in the opening exchanges, the Chiefs needing only six minutes to strike through Etene Nanai-Seturo.
But the Reds didn’t wilt. Earning their first spell of territory, they marched downfield through their maul before changing tack, attacking around the edges and finding reward through George Blake.
The Reds defence then became the decisive factor, bending but not breaking and inevitably forcing their opponents into errors. The hosts switched between keeping ball in hand and playing a territorial game, but neither approach saw a wealth of possession converted into points.
Only a Reds miscue allowed Nanai-Seturo to score his second try but, just like after the opener, the Reds quickly responded through their set piece, with a strong scrum allowing halfback Tate McDermott to snipe through a hole.
Buoyed by their first-half efforts, the Reds took further control through their lineout, with the Chiefs’ discipline beginning to fray as Jock Campbell and Zane Nonggorr helped put their side ahead by a converted try.
Needing a response, the hosts continued to get into good positions and continued to cough up the ball, running into a resolute wall of tacklers. Patience and accuracy were required but, while the former was rarely a problem, the latter repeatedly proved their undoing.
With eight minutes to play, the Chiefs finally strung together enough phases to produce a gap as Samipeni Finau’s try left the scores level.
But another error from the kickoff allowed the Reds a chance to win it from the tee, ending a couple of long streaks in the process.
Reds 25 (George Blake, Tate McDermott, Jock Campbell, Zane Nonggorr tries; Lawson Creighton con, Tom Lynagh pen)
Chiefs 22 (Etene Nanai-Seturo 2, Samipeni Finau tries, Damian McKenzie 2 cons, pen)
Halftime: 12-12
