A strong finish was not enough to get the All Blacks over the line in warm conditions in the traditional Good Friday battle at Bonnie Doon.
Injuries, illness and unavailability depleted the line ups of the seniors and reserves.
In tough circumstances All Blacks battled hard leading up to half-time and were only two goals down going into the break.
The quicker Bonnie Doon side took control of the game in the third quarter and looked like inflicting a huge defeat on the All Blacks.
However, despite more serious injuries and no interchange players available the All Blacks piled on seven goals in the final quarter.
Unfortunately the siren interrupted the comeback and the Panthers went down by eight points.
Moran said the team was disappointed with the result.
‘‘We didn’t concede defeat until the very end,’’ Moran said.
‘‘We were disappointed with our display in the third quarter, but after that we gave them everything we had.
‘‘We didn’t let it blow out. We came out with gusto and we got close — but not close enough.
‘‘The first half wasn’t too bad, we were right in it. But then Bonnie Doon got a run on. It’s disappointing that we couldn’t sustain the effort going into the third quarter.’’
Coaches will be paying close attention to injuries picked up during the game with Reagan Sheen copping a couple of heavy bumps and Scott Docherty picking up an ankle injury.
Moran said he was not sure how serious these were, but hoped the team would be good to go next week.
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