Having played one more game, Waratahs headed into the clash at Conolly Rugby Complex on top of the Southern Inland ladder.

However they struggled for answers as the Boiled Lollies continued their unbeaten run.

The premiers haven't lost since 2019 after scoring a 45-26 win on Saturday.

Without a host of key men including star playmaker Dylan McLachlan, captain Adam Mokotupu and last year's best in the grand final Pita Herangi, Wagga City had to call upon their depth.

Coach Ben Schreiber was thrilled with how they rose to the challenge.

"We had to call on a lot of blokes, all the way from third grade even, to come up and play for us as we had a fair few outs," Schreiber said.

"It was good to call on the depth from the club and still get the job done.

"It was really good to see guys putting their hands up to fill in so I was really proud of the effort."

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After some tight opening stages, Wagga City were able to bounce out to a 33-7 lead.

However after having two players yellow carded Waratahs were able to take advantage to put a little more respectability into the scoreline.

"Waratahs gave it to us from the first whistle blast and were competing the entire way but our boys were able to grind it out and get the win in the end," Schreiber said.

Peter Little asserted plenty of dominance on the clash while Tyson McLachlan put in one of his strongest performances for the club.

Wagga City go back around Waratahs and into top spot on the ladder.

Waratahs will have plenty of time to dwell on the performance with two consecutive byes while Wagga City tackles winless CSU next week.

Meanwhile Griffith took a big step towards securing their finals berth with a 41-27 win over Tumut.

Nine points now separates the two teams in the hunt for fourth, with the Blacks only four points behind third-placed Albury, who face on Saturday.

After a tight loss to Waratahs last week, coach Chris McGregor was thrilled with their response.

"It was a good win. We worked to our structures better this week," McGregor said." It gives us a bit of a gap between us and the fifth spot."

Tumut matched it with Griffith early at Exies Oval before their rivals skipped clear to lead 29-5 at half-time.

A late rally ensured they went home with a bonus point but they will need to capitalise against Ag College next week to give themselves a chance of playing finals.