In a match littered with drama from start to finish, a late surge from the Purples saw them escape with the precious two points, wrestling back a three-goal deficit in the final three minutes to secure the 30-30 result.
Made to rue a missed opportunity to climb up to third spot on the ladder, Moama coach Lisa Drysdale said some crucial errors made for a hollow feeling leaving the courts on Saturday afternoon.
"Our third quarter was great, we built a five-goal lead. But early in the last quarter we had a couple of errors and a couple of missed goals,“ Drysdale told The Riverine Herald.
“We were still three goals up with three minutes to go, but I think panic set in. We didn’t use our control that we had had throughout the game and we made some silly errors and they capitalised.
“They got one in the final 20 seconds to draw it at 30.”
From the opening minutes, you could tell it was going to go right down to the wire.
As both teams traded blows from the get-go, Moama managed to get the better of the opening stanza, leading by one goal at the first change after what was a brutal quarter of netball.
With a home crowd behind it, Moama continued to build a lead into the second term, before a dominant third stanza had it five goals clear turning for home.
But just as the Magpies appeared poised to break through for a pivotal win, the Purples hit back hard.
Dialling up the pressure, Nathalia forced its overwhelmed opponent into key errors, allowing the Purples to roar back into the contest and level the score as the final siren sounded.
With finals just a fortnight away, Drysdale said her team would learn a lot from the experience.
“We will definitely learn from what happened. It is definitely a wake-up call and something that we will work through at training,” she said.
“Right at the end I think the pressure just got the better of us. We will have a discussion about it and what everyone has to do to play their part in such a tight game.”
Despite not claiming the win, she said the result was definitely a step in the right direction given Nathalia handed her team a thrashing back in round two.
“We matched up really well right from the get-go,“ Drysdale said.
“Last time we played them we lost by 15 goals, so we have come a long way throughout the year and improved a lot.
“Defensively, Jodie Lake and Tiarna Steele really stood up for us. They were very, very good and they worked well together. They are both so determined and they are so on the same page as defenders, it is amazing to watch them out there.”
Around the courts, Congupna made its return to the winners’ list with a spirited 27-23 victory over Barooga.
Mulwala secured sixth spot on the ladder with a gritty 56-46 victory over Finley.
Rumbalara made light work of Echuca United, winning 63-43 at Mercury Drive.
Tongala was far too good for Cobram, running away a 66-36 victor on its home court.
Deniliquin Rams maintained their perfect record, recording a 17th straight victory with a 76-18 annihilation of Numurkah.