New Zealand was beaten by 18 points in the Oceania Motocross Championships, with Australia scoring 159 points to team New Zealand's 177.
There were some standout performances by the Kiwis - 125cc rider John Phillips (Honda) finished 3-1 in his two outings, and KTM's Micah McGoldrick (pictured) won both his 85cc class races. Fellow Kiwi team rider Courtney Duncan (Yamaha) was second equal in the class and shared the position with 13-year-old Queensland rider Joel Dinsdale (Yamaha).
Australian riders Jordan Hill and Hunter Lawrence finished 1-2 respectively in both 65cc races with Hamilton's Josiah Natzke (KTM) taking third spot. Natzke was the only Kiwi to feature among the top five in this class.
Australian team manager Mark Willingham said, "Our 65cc class riders were awesome. At age seven these riders go straight onto the senior tracks in Australia and I think that was the difference in our riders today. Our boys were used to these conditions.
"By the time our 65cc riders arrived in New Zealand, they already had several years of experience dealing with the big ruts created by the larger bikes."
New Zealand team manager Bryan Davidson, of Marton, agreed it was the experience of the 65cc riders that spelled the difference.
"It was encouraging to see how close the two teams were but, in the end, their 65cc riders were of a much greater calibre. We need to get our 65cc riders onto the big tracks sooner. That was the great lesson for us from the weekend."