The Auckland Tuatara won three of their five matches in a busy day at the 3×3 Cup in Invercargill to be well-placed heading into the final day of round robin.
After a tough first day where they went 2-2 and lost Ryan Laumatia to a knee injury, the Tuatara came out firing to beat the Franklin Bulls 21-15 and backed it up with a second successive win against a strong West Coast Rapids side 21-19.
The Manawatu Jets proved too strong in the final day session game but the Tuatara bounced back to take the first night session game 21-11 against the Otago Nuggets.
The hometown Southland Sharks, on the back of sharp shooting from Ethan Rusbatch, beat the Tuatara 21-13 in the final game of the day.
It means the Tuatara hold sixth place heading into the final day of pool play.
The top six get an automatic spot in the quarter-finals while teams seven-10 will feature in a play-in format.
The Tuatara will face top side the Canterbury Rams at 1.25pm on Friday.