The Purples made no mistake in taking full advantage of the Road's bye with a commanding 81-point demolition of Rumbalara in round 13 of the campaign to keep in touching distance of the Road at the summit.
The hosts were in control from the outset at Nathalia Recreation Reserve on June 27, kicking the opening four goals of the contest before cruising to a 17.10 (112) to 4.7 (31) victory.
The result keeps Nathalia in second place on 32 points - level with Mulwala but ahead on percentage - while trimming the gap to ladder leader Congupna to 10 points, although the Road still has a game in hand after its bye.
Liam Evans spearheaded the rout with a brilliant seven-goal haul, Logan Campbell added four majors and Ned Frostick chipped in with three as the Purples' forwards feasted on a dominant midfield performance.
Nathalia steadily increased its advantage at every change, leading by 14 points at quarter-time before blowing the game open with an 11-goal second term to establish a commanding 55-point halftime lead.
From there it was one-way traffic, with the home side extending the margin to 81 points by the final siren.
Kai Lundberg, Evans, Harry McDonald, Tom Nihill, Jack Duggan and Joshua Dohnt impressed during a strong all-round showing, while Kydan Atkinson, Jake Zerbato, Jaylen Saunders, Elwyn Bush, Byron Dryden and Anthony Walker battled hard for Rumba.
Elsewhere, Mulwala maintained its hold on a top-three position with a 27-point win over Numurkah, 11.11 (77) to 7.8 (50), while Moama strengthened its finals credentials by comfortably accounting for Deniliquin Rams by 70 points.
Finley collected an important four points with a 34-point victory over Echuca United, 8.13 (61) to 3.9 (27), and Tongala edged Cobram in one of the games of the round, prevailing by 10 points in a high-scoring contest, 16.3 (99) to 13.11 (89).
With Congupna enjoying the bye, the Road remains the benchmark of the competition on 42 points from 11 games, sitting two wins clear of both Nathalia and Mulwala.
Cobram and Numurkah round out the top five on 28 points, while Moama remains firmly in the finals hunt after improving to a 7-4 record. Rumbalara remains anchored to the foot of the ladder with just one win for the season.
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