Extra time was extra good as far as the Auckland Vulcans were concerned.
They edged Counties-Manukau 23-22 in a thrilling New Zealand Rugby League premiership final at Pulman Park in Auckland on Saturday.
Kadiyae Ioka, who got a yellow card earlier in the game, snapped over a field goal from 5m out and right in front to seal the win.
The Vulcans looked in trouble at halftime, though.
The defending champions trailed Counties-Manukau 16-4, and the title looked like it might be on the move to South Auckland.
But they responded quickly. Dylan Tavita smashed his way over from close range to help reduce the deficit.
Counties re-established the buffer when Jamal Hunt cut back on a short, angled run to the line and had too much momentum to be stopped.
Down 22-8, the Vulcans had a lot of work to do.
That graft started with Noah Harmer-Campbell, who dived over from a ruck.
Both sides lost a player to the bin following a melee midway through the second half.
The Vulcans exploited the extra space and eventually Fine Vakautakakala barrelled over from a ruck close to the line.
They levelled the scores when Penu Figota stepped his way around his marker out wide.
A successful conversion would have put the Vulcans in front with 10 minutes remaining.
But the game was destined for extra time and the Vulcans sealed the win when Ioka dropped it on to his boot and knocked it through the uprights.
Counties had enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges and were rewarded with hooker Desmond Toofohe slipping through several soft tackles to open the scoring in the fourth minute of the game.
The Vulcans responded through midfielder Matthew Whyte, who scored out wide after some nice play further up the field.
But Counties scored two late tries to take a healthy lead into the break.
Arthur Crichton got in a hole and scored after some slick passing created the space, and winger Lewis Soosemea got on the end of the chain from a nicely worked move from a scrum.
The Otago Whalers finished fifth. They posted a win against Waikato in the opening round.
There is some doubt as to whether the premiership will continue in the same format next season.
New Zealand Rugby League told The New Zealand Herald earlier this month a working group was considering the competition structure.
A range of options are being considered, including the possibility of North-South conference set-up.
