They are in fourth spot and are starting to play some consistent rugby.
They beat Counties-Manukau 33-19 at Forsyth Barr Stadium this afternoon.
It was a game they were always in control of despite an early hiccup when Jona Nareki’s touch-finder was charged down.
The Steelers briefly took the lead, but Otago scored five tries to three and left two or three out on the park.
Otago coach Mark Brown gave a rueful smile when asked about the missed opportunities.
"Yes, we did. The scoreboard could have looked a lot better," he said.
"That’s where we’ve got to be better moving forward.
"But we’re happy enough."
"Traditionally, we haven't done well after a good performance, so we wanted to back up and we've done that."
Otago registered a 46-41 upset win against Wellington in Porirua in round three.
That win got people talking, and the relative ease with which they were able to beat Counties will create some more chat, particularly in Dunedin.
Otago made a promising start with the ball.
And eventually they were rewarded when Sam Gilbert stretched out in a tackle to score. He showed some great strength and determination there.
But all the good work was undone at the restart.
Nareki had his kick charged down by winger Simon-Peter Toleafoa, who regathered and scored.
A crowd of 3100 was hushed, but they did not stay quiet long.
Otago continued to play with a lot of width. Openside Lucas Casey popped up on the wing and made several nice touches.
The Steelers ran out of defenders and Pledger swung it right to Nareki, who scored in the corner untouched.
Otago were clinical with their next visit to the 22. They rumbled the ball into the middle of the field from a lineout and Will Tucker drove over.
The Steelers lost experienced loose forward Dalton Papali’i when he failed an HIA. Not long after first five Jackson Rainsford and halfback Jonathan Taumateine both hobbled off.
The visitors finished the half strongly, though. They set up camp and battered the line.
Otago defended strongly, but prop Keran van Staden forced his way over moments after the halftime hooter to trim the lead to 19-12.
The home side threatened to score through Gilbert. But with the line beckoning, the captain chopped down the gears and opted to head back in field. Counties scrambled out of trouble.
But Pledger went in under the posts moments later. Christian Lio-Willie bumped off a defender and got in the clear.
Otago struck again quickly. Counties turned the ball over. Nareki scampered down the left wing, drew the last defender again and passed to Millar, who went in.
Counties replied with a consolation try to Gibson Popoali’i. He palmed off Jae Broomfield.
But they were too far behind and Otago’s grip on the helm was too firm.
• Former Highlanders and All Black first five Lima Sopoaga landed a clutch penalty goal to seal a 23-22 Ranfurly Shield challenge win for Waikato over Taranaki in New Plymouth on Saturday.
The veteran pivot, who is back playing in the NPC after a stint overseas, gave the visiting fans a fright, though.
The ball slipped off the tee with about 10 seconds on the shot clock.
But Sopoaga managed to reset the ball and calmly slot it from 32 metres out.
In the other round four results this weekend, Tasman eased to a 43-19 win against North Harbour and Northland beat Auckland 43-24.
NPC
The scores
Otago 33
Sam Gilbert, Jona Nareki, Will Tucker, Dylan Pledger, Cameron Millar tries; Millar 4 con
Counties-Manukau 19
Simon-Peter Toleafoa, Keran van Staden, Gibson Popoali’i try; Jackson Rainsford con, Popoali’i con
Halftime: 19-12
