Both teams came into the game undefeated and Saturday afternoon's match at Cowra Rugby Grounds may just be a sign of things to come during finals later in the year, the Eagles escaping with their unbeaten record intact.

Eagles skipper Tim Berry, understandably stoked with the victory, said the team's defence in the second half was the crucial factor.

"We've sort of been building over the last couple of games... our first half, we made a few mistakes, we let them in there right at the end of the first half and we were pretty disappointed about that because we really wanted to close that half off," he said.

"I think that the second half, our defence was probably what won it for us."

Berry highlighted five-eighth Troy Jeffs and flanker Dom Dewhurst helped turn the tide in the second half, although he did say his side won't be resting on their laurels now.

"We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, that's a tough win, there's only a couple of points in it," he said.

"Lets celebrate the guys who did some really good things and lets work on those things we can improve."

Handling errors marred the first attacking phases for both sides before Cowra began to gain momentum inside Emus' half.

An early penalty to Cowra resulted in the home side posting the first points of the game, thanks to Argentinian fullback Garrizo Gonzarlo's boot, although Emus roared back into the contest.

Camped on the Cowra line, the Emus' were rewarded for their patience, with Rob Thorburn crossing the stripe midway through the first half, Nigel Staniforth converting for a 7-3 lead.

The hosts hit back through, the greens continuing their 2019 trend of conceding shortly after scoring, when Vilikesa Koilagi waltzed over. Gonzarlo's conversion gave the Eagles a 10-7 lead, although Sam Greatbatch stole that back for Emus with a 40^th minute try.

Staniforth's successful conversion gave his side a two-point lead at the break, which he extended to five with a penalty goal immediately after.

The greens looked quite capable of running away with the clash at that point but the Eagles forced an arm-wrestle, winning the lead back with Woqabuli's try.

They actually had two chances to extend the lead late in the clash too, but Gonzarlo missed back-to-back, straightforward penalty goal chances.

Fortunately for the Eagles the misses didn't prove costly, as they held on to secure a thrilling win.

"We sort of shot ourselves in the foot," Emus No.8 Scott McLean said.

"Our first half I thought we were really good, we reacted to their pressure and we put the foot down but the second half, too many mistakes and we just got frustrated... a lack of discipline really cost us.

"They had a couple of penalties at the end they really could have shot ahead with but they missed, but same again, we just gave them too many penalties."

The defending premiers will face what looks to be the toughest challenge in the competition in their bid to bounce back next week, Bathurst Bulldogs at Anne Ashwood Park.