The Shoalies have manged to overcome a tough battle against the second seed Tech Waratahs to hold down first place in the Illawarra League.
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It was a tightly fought contest on Saunders Oval last weekend that saw the Shoalies walk away with a gutsy 12-17 victory.
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The game opened up with Mark Brandon putting the Shoalies on the board first with a penalty kick to put his side up 3-0, one minute in.
The Tahs quickly responded at the six minute mark to put their side ahead 5-3.
George Miller fought through the Tahs line to put down Shoalhaven's first try of match at the nine minute mark, which Brandon swiftly converted to bring the scores to 5-10.
The scoring action would be halted for ten minutes as both sides battled it out trying to gain the advantage.
However the Tahs would again break through at the 20 minute mark to even the scores up at 10-10 and with the successful conversion, Tech led by two points.
The two sides found themselves battling hard as both sides flexed their physicality with nothing coming easy.
Right before halftime Mark Brandon was able to again break through to go over the line, and after he kicked his third successful conversion, the Shoalies would lead 12-17 as they headed to the lockers.
The second half was a grind fest however as nether side was again able to cross the line, with both sides defensive lines doing wonders.
With Shoalhaven protecting their lead, their defensive efforts proved pivotal as the Tahs could not break through.
The score still read 12-17 at the end of full time and the Shoalies walked away victorious.
Coach Will Miller said he was thrilled to come out on top of what was a physical game.
"It was a very evenly matched game, and kicking was really the difference in the end," he said.
"They were beating us in the line out which stopped our attack pretty well, but we held our line super well in the second half and it was everyone's hard work that got us the win."
Miller said he loves playing in tight affairs as it really shows you what your team is made of.
"Anyone that wants to be successful wants to play in those hard type games because that's when you really get the pressure put on you, it shows you as a team where we are at," he said.
"It was great to see on the weekend, as it came down to the wire that we were really protecting our line for multiple plays in a row and not letting them in."
"Everyone is working for each other right now and when that happens, good things tend to follow."
The Shoalies next match is against Bowral on Saturday the 18th of June.