A dominant first half on enemy territory set up a fifth successive victory for Narooma in round eight of SCAFL action, with the Lions holding out a fast-finishing Tathra by six points.
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The Lions made the trip south undermanned, with four players doubling up after playing a full match of reserves football earlier at Bega.
But the Narooma side got on the front foot early, kicking three goals against the wind in the opening term to hold a narrow two-point advantage at the first change.
The visitors broke the game open in the second quarter, and it was two of the competition's rising stars who led the charge. Teenagers Jeremy Sly and Jai Reed were unstoppable in the second as Narooma piled on 6.2 to 1.4 to push the margin out to 30 points at the long break.
Tom Clarke and Cliff Taylor were their usual productive selves, winning the ball in the middle and using it well going forward.
Simon Mackie was again pivotal in attack, and showed outstanding leadership after stepping up into the role of captaincy following skipper Ben McCullough's knee injury.
The Sea Eagles did their best to get back into the contest after halftime, with Troy O'Loghlin, Shane Gartside and David Thompson all lifting.
The home team managed four goals to Narooma's two in the third to narrow the deficit to 17 points with a quarter to play.
Their charge continued in a thrilling final term, with Tathra adding another five goals to their tally. But the Lions weathered the storm, with Reed going into the midfield to add strength at the stoppages and Mackie heading down back to provide superb rebounding.
Narooma coach Jason Sauiluma said the resolve shown by his side in the 14.7 (91) to 12.13 (85) win had been inspirational.
“We had six guys who would be automatic selections either injured or unavailable, so we definitely went in short,” Sauiluma said.
“The four guys who started on the bench had already played a full game, so we didn't want to have to get them on too much.
“But out of those guys, Josh Stokes was terrific – he was one of the standouts for us.
“Fatigue is a factor in any game, but we knew it was going to be more telling given we couldn't rotate much.
“Tathra were coming back hard in the second half and there was still three or four minutes left when they got within a goal.
“Our guys never dropped their heads though – they really stood up when it mattered and it was a great win.”
Sauiluma said the closeness of the contest was another sign of how even the competition is.
“We know that between first and fourth place there is only a few points in it,” he said.
“We've got ourselves into a good position, but we just need to keep working on our game plan and making sure that it is locked in come finals time.
“All going to plan we'll have 26 or 27 guys battling for 20 spots come finals, so everyone needs to be stepping up each week and earning their spot.”
Narooma 14.7 (91) (Goals: J Reed 4, J Sly 4, S Mackie 2, J Sauiluma, L Talty, Z Martin, J Stokes; Best: J Sly, J Reed, T Clarke, L Hodgson, S Mackie, C Taylor) def. Tathra 12.13 (85) (Goals: L Coulton 4, D Thompson 3, L Taylor 2, S Gartside, D Gartside,B Mace; Best: T O’Loghlin, S Gartside, D Thompson, R Spink, A Blacka,T Lipsham)
