Bulldogs hang onto fifth by skin of teeth after tense draw with Wagga Tigers | Photos

The Bulldogs (3-3-1) entered the match in fifth and a game ahead of the Tigers, but the status quo remained after the third draw in the competition already this year.

Turvey Park built a 9-3 lead after the first quarter but the Tigers' decision to move Jess Allen to shooter paid dividends as a tense goal-for-goal final term ended in a stalemate.

After losing their first four games the Tigers have two wins and a draw from their past three before this weekend's competition bye.

While a draw wasn't the original goal, a loss would have plunged the Tigers into a two-win hole behind the Bulldogs.

"We knew that walking in and we probably put a bit of pressure on ourselves early," Tigers coach Olivia Tilyard said.

"They (Turvey Park) are a team to watch out for in the future, they've got a lot of young girls with a lot of talent.

"We needed a mature head in shooting and usually that's Stacey Curran, but she was unavailable. Once we put Jess into shooting it changed the game completely."

The Tigers have been perennial flag winners or grand final contenders in recent seasons, and their battle just to squeeze into finals is a foreign one.

"This is the first time we haven't been winning. There's pressure on everyone and it's something we're not used to, which is fine," she said.

"Things go in cycles and it's not a bad thing, we have to deal with that pressure and it's good for everyone to learn to deal with losing.

"The lowest we've finished on the ladder going into finals is third. You can't expect to win all the time, but we've probably been thinking about that more than just playing netball."

"We needed a couple of wins to get our confidence up and hopefully that we can get a roll going."

Turvey Park coach Meg Johnson praised her side's ability to stand up under pressure when the intensity lifted late.

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"I was proud of the way the girls played. It got pretty physical towards the end and the young girls stood up under that, and made some high pressure shots to keep us in the game," she said.

"It (draw) doesn't move us forward, but doesn't push us back ultimately. It's just that type of competition where it could come down to percentages.

"The Tigers had a slow start to the season and they were looking for combos, with that injury to Rhiannon (Podmore, ACL in round one), it's probably taken a bit of time to settle, and play to their potential."

In other results on Saturday Coolamon retained a buffer in third spot on the ladder with a 39-31 win over Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong, Griffith continued their strong season with a 74-46 victory over Narrandera and defending premiers Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes beat Collingullie-Glenfield Park 48-34.

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