Northland have climbed to third on the Mitre 10 Cup Championship ladder after a claiming a bonus-point 26-10 win over Southland in Whangarei on Thursday.
The Taniwha dominated most of the match as Southland suffered their 17th-straight loss dating back to October 2016.
Southland took the lead early through a penalty goal from first-five James Wilson, but that was as good as it got for the Stags as Northland scored a hat-trick of tries in 10 minutes sealed the win before halftime.
Loose forward Matt Matich, halfback Sam Nock and lock Murray Douglas all scored tries to give Northland a 19-3 lead at the break.
Southland hit back as Manaaki Selby-Rickit scored Southland's only try to close the game, but Scottish import Douglas scored his second try, and Northland's fourth, to secure the five competition points for his side.
The win was Northland's third in their last four games after starting the season with back-to-back losses.
Northland is away to Hawke's Bay next Wednesday, while Southland's next outing will be a Ranfurly Shield challenge against Waikato on Saturday week in Hamilton.
Newshub.
