diff --git a/priv/templates/simplenode.nodetool b/priv/templates/simplenode.nodetool
index 8afc167..971f983 100644
--- a/priv/templates/simplenode.nodetool
+++ b/priv/templates/simplenode.nodetool
@@ -10,10 +10,10 @@ main(Args) ->
     {RestArgs, TargetNode} = process_args(Args, [], undefined),
 
     %% See if the node is currently running  -- if it's not, we'll bail
-    case net_adm:ping(TargetNode) of
-        pong ->
+    case {net_kernel:hidden_connect_node(TargetNode), net_adm:ping(TargetNode)} of
+        {true, pong} ->
             ok;
-        pang ->
+        {_, pang} ->
             io:format("Node ~p not responding to pings.\n", [TargetNode]),
             halt(1)
     end,