The Macquarie Raiders produced a determined second-half effort at Apex Oval on Sunday to defeat the Nyngan Tigers and get their Peter McDonald Premiership campaign back on track.
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After back-to-back losses to Parkes and rivals Dubbo CYMS, the Raiders were facing the prospect of falling off the pace in the finals race when they trailed the Tigers 12-10 at half-time on Sunday.
The sides swapped converted tries in the first 15 minutes after the restart before the Raiders began to dominate possession.
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Despite some gallant Nyngan defence that pressure eventually turned into points and a Josh Nixon try put the hosts in front before Kane McDermott darted out of dummyhalf and scored in the final two minutes to make sure of the result.
"That was very important. We needed that to keep our season alive," Macquarie hooker McDermott said post-game.
"We fought hard and dug deep and got there in the end.
"It was a bit of a scrappy game and it was tit-for-tat but we got there and that's the positive."
The first half of the season was marred by inconsistency for the Raiders and they entered round nine in fourth spot in the Group 11 pool and with the ninth best record in the competition.
Sunday's performance was far from perfect, with handling errors an issue throughout, but the tenacity was clear to see.
The best example came late in the match when the Tigers, down by four points, were working their way into the Raiders half.
Macquarie captain-coach Alex Ronayne produced a crucial one-on-one strip and a few plays later McDermott darted over to the delight of his teammates and the Raiders faithful.
"I see the line and go, and sometimes I get there and sometimes I don't," McDermott smiled, before speaking about his side's current position.
"We've hit the halfway point and we need to show everyone the potential in our side and kick into gear in the back-end of the season.
"We need to show everyone what we're made of. We're getting there."
For Nyngan, the result was the latest in a string of narrow losses this season.
The Tigers lost to both Orange CYMS and Orange Hawks by just two points in rounds one and two while they went into Sunday's match having drawn 16-all with Forbes last time out despite leading by 10 with five minutes remaining.
Halfback Josh Bermingham described Sunday's loss as "frustrating but exciting".
One of four players in Sunday's lineup who arrived at Nyngan after the season had already kicked off, Bermingham said the new-look side is still finding its way.
"We're sweet, I know that," he said.
"At the end of the season we'll be flying and will be giving the top seeds a run for their money."
Bermingham and the Tigers began well on Sunday, regaining possession after the kick-off went dead before forcing a Macquarie dropout.
Nothing came of it and it was Macquarie who opened the scoring on 16 minutes when Blake Merritt won the race to a Josh Merritt banana kick and found Jai Merritt, who put Corey Cox over.
Bermingham scored his side's first try when he stepped his past the defence and over on 23 minutes and while Farren Lamb's conversion put the Tigers in front, the lead lasted mere seconds.
In what will be one of the more bizarre tries of the season that left players and fans bemused, the kick-off from Macquarie was allowed to bounce and while the Tigers scrambled it fell perfectly into the arms of Filisione Pauta, who was rushing through, and he didn't have to change his pace or direction at all as he ran through virtually untouched and scored under the posts.
But the Tigers regrouped and four minutes later were in front again when Farren Lamb regathered his own chip kick close to the try-line and then was able to get the ball away while under pressure for Clynton Edwards to score.
Lamb's successful conversion then proved to be the last points in the first half.
Ronayne and Tigers fullback Terry Ryan scored within four minutes of each other early in the second half but from there the bulk of the match was played in Nyngan's half.
The visitors still had chances - a Sonny Knight knock-on as he attempted to score on 76 minutes the biggest - but the Raiders took theirs, as first Nixon pounced on a perfect Josh Merritt grubber before McDermott wrapped it up.
The rake said post-game the Raiders were still coming together after two major recruitment drives in the past two off-seasons, and Ronayne's in-match decisions were proof of that.
Pauta spent time in the unfamiliar hooker role to give McDermott a rest on Sunday while five-eighth Jai Merritt also spent time on the bench as the search for the perfect combinations goes on.
"It is a new side so we're still seeing who works best with each other," McDermott added.
Macquarie next faces Group 10 power Orange CYMS as the Peter McDonald Premiership's crossover matches return.
Orange CYMS has only lost once this season and will head to Dubbo next Saturday having thumped Lithgow 56-10 on Sunday.
- MACQUARIE RAIDERS 28 (Corey Cox, Filisione Pauta, Alex Ronayne, Josh Nixon, Kane McDermott tries; Blake Merritt 2, Corey Cox 2 goals) defeated NYNGAN TIGERS 18 (Josh Bermingham, Clynton Edwards, Terry Ryan tries; Farren Lamb 3 goals)