Tongala pinched a win from the jaws of defeat on Saturday, hitting the front for the first time in the last minute to upstage Numurkah by six points at Numurkah Showgrounds.

The visitors trailed by 20 points mid-way through the final quarter, before kicking the last four goals of the day to win 14.22(106) to 15.10(100).

Best on ground James Nanopolous became the hero when he kicked the sealer from the goal square after receiving a pass from Andrew Reid.

Tongala coach Dave Newman said it was a fantastic victory.

‘‘Our boys could have easily rolled over in that last quarter, but our leaders stood up and got us back in it,’’ he said.

‘‘Jimmy Cullum and Jordan Souter were fantastic in the last 10 minutes.’’

Newman told his players to savour the win and recognise its significance.

‘‘It’s very, very important for our season,’’ he said.

‘‘If we lost we would’ve been two wins out of the top six, so it keeps our season on track.’’

Numurkah started the better of the two sides to lead by nine points at quarter-time, despite Tongala recording one more scoring shot.

The home side shot out to a three-goal lead at the start of the second and third terms, but was reined in by the visitors both times.

Numurkah led by seven points at half-time and two at the final change, but could not boast such a lead at the final siren.

Mark Brown was almost the difference in the absence of Joel Child and Matt Chapman, booting six goals for the afternoon.

But Tongala’s forward set up proved more effective, with Matt Andrews and Reid kicking three goals each.

Adam Nunn and Luke McGill also pitched in with two majors each.

Sam Lovison and Tom Donnell had a big influence for Tongala, while Mitch Jones was Numurkah’s best player ahead of Brown, Matt Smyth and Tim Arnel.

Newman said his side still had a lot to improve on if it wanted to be seen as a finals contender.

‘‘Our kicking for goal wasn’t great and our field kicking isn’t where we want it to be,’’ he said.

‘‘Our endeavour was certainly there, but our skills will improve over time.’’

The Blues finished the match unscathed and will be looking to make it two straight wins when they host Rumbalara on Saturday.

■Tongala’s reserves side remains undefeated after a 32-point win against Numurkah.

The Blues led at every change to win 13.12(90) to 9.4(58).

Mark Reid took his goal-kicking tally to 16 after booting four goals, while Corey Nexhip and Ayden McGill finished with two each.