The Moruya Sharks jumped into second spot on the Group 16 ladder with a hard-fought 28-24 win over the Narooma Devils at Ack Weyman Oval.
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Moruya and Narooma have a fierce local rivalry, and this game was no disappointment.
Both sides went into the match with long injury lists, but the squads on show played a hard and fast game with neither side giving an inch.
Narooma scored in just the third minute through Tully Wilton, but Zac Ingram strolled through in the ninth minute to level the scores.
Jordan Terare gave the Sharks the lead in the 14th minute off a fine piece of backline play, but errors from the Sharks gave the Devils great field position, and Clyde Parson scored close to the posts to make it 12-10 to Narooma after 17 minutes.
The game continued to flow up and down the park, as both sides squandered scoring opportunities.
Peter Lett scored a great front-rowers try in the 29th minute to give Moruya the lead, but Jackson Kelly's try in the shadow of half time gave the Devils an 18-16 lead at the break.
The second half saw both teams tighten up as they knuckled down for a tough day at the office.
The Sharks looked more dangerous in attack, with Aaron Brierley the main threat with ball in hand.
After a period of territorial dominance, Jacob Zutt finished off a great attacking raid to give the Sharks the lead in the 53rd minute.
When Dennis Green ran sixty metres to score just eight minutes later, it looked like the Sharks may run away with the game
However, the never say die spirit of the Devils saw them come within reach of a win. Resolute defence stopped the Sharks twice on their try line, before they worked their way back with a try to Elijah Blair in the 70th minute.
The balance of the game saw Narooma camped in their opponent's half, but this time it was desperate Moruya defence that pressured the Devils into errors and kept them out.
In the end, a good win for the Sharks, but a game Narooma might think themselves unlucky to have not taken home the points.
Moruya does not have another home game for a month, with trips to Bombala, Bega and Eden, and a much-needed break over the long weekend.
In the lower grades, the Moruya Reggies were far too strong for the Narooma Reserve grade with a 52-16 romp that saw a number of players taking themselves out of nudie-run consideration.
The League Tag Sharkettes conceded an early try, but were never really troubled to beat Narooma 40-4, with Shae Chesher scoring a first half hat-trick and Nicole Cowdroy bringing up her hat-trick late in the second half.