The Otago Whalers produced an astonishing second-half comeback to beat the Tasman Titans 40-30 in the final round of the southern zone competition in Christchurch on Saturday.
The Whalers trailed the Titans 30-10 with half an hour remaining before they roared home with six unanswered tries.
Whalers centre Callum Smith earned bragging rights over his older brother and Titans captain Eliot Smith with three tries in a blockbusting display.
After the match, he said his brother was not happy and would not speak to him.
Smith said it was good to get one over his brother and he was "stoked" for his team to finish the season so well.
It was the second time in the competition Smith had scored a hat trick, after he got one against the Southland Rams.
Whalers second-rower Shane Unahi also bagged a hat trick.
The first half was dominated by the Titans and they led 24-10 at halftime. They outscored the Whalers four tries to two, with the Whalers struggling to complete any of their sets.
The second half started with the Titans scoring early to hold a 20-point lead.
The game seemed over but the Whalers showed great resilience to score six unanswered tries to Unahi (2), Smith (2), winger Joel Taniora and second-rower Manassah Kutia.
Whalers coach David Reedy said his side had a terrible first half but showed a "ton of courage" to fight back.
He said in the second half the Whalers controlled the ball after failing to hold on to it in the first.
"The way we finished the match was really pleasing and it was a great way to finish the season."
Reedy singled out replacement fullback Ben Loughrey-Webb as his player of the day, closely followed by Unahi and Smith.
The Whalers finished the season with three wins from five matches and claimed third spot behind Canterbury A and Canterbury under-20.
Canterbury under-20 won its game against the West Coast Chargers to set up an all-Canterbury final in Christchurch.
The South City Dragonz solidified its hold on second in the Otago Rugby League spring competition with an 18-8 win over Pirates at Hancock Park on Saturday.
• The South Pacific Raiders made it four wins in a row and jumped into third after thumping South City Dragonz B 54-10.
University remains fifth on points differential behind Pirates after it beat the Kaikorai Silverbacks 34-10.
The Hawks remain first after the Kia Toa Tigers defaulted. One round remains before the semifinals.
