My research indicates NZ pilots achieved successes against Zeros and Hamps, in both Seafires and Spitfires flown by them... - In the PTO it was mostly Mk.VIII's, PR-IX's and Mk.XIV-type Spitfires....There were the Aussie pilots in Spits too, and the FAA guys were of mixed nationalities in Seafires...They may not have had great range, but the Spits n' Seafires could mix-it with Zeros and Oscars, the heavier US aircraft 'dived slashed' at them....
That was the general tactic yes, but I have read plenty of counts of the heavier US fighters dogfighting with the Zeros and Oscars and winning. Range was everything in the Pacific and the short range of the Spit limited its usefulness.