The Tigers were forced to reshuffle when James Smart went with an ankle issue 20 minutes into his first game of the season.

Smart was injured in the lead up to Jai Doherty's second try for Temora however it would be their last points.

Instead the Tigers reeled off 18 unanswered points to score a 30-10 win at Anzac Park on Saturday.

Co-coach Luke Berkrey was thrilled with how they overcame the mid-game reshuffle as they build towards finals.

"I thought we were pretty good in certain areas - we completed pretty well, which I was pretty happy with," Berkrey said.

"To be up in the 80s is nice. It might have got scrappy in the middle part of the game but I felt we definitely finished stronger.

"It was a step in the right direction."

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Gundagai got off to the perfect start when Temora failed to take the kick-off and Berkrey crossed in the first set of the game.

It didn't take the Tigers long to make it two when Aisea Taholo slammed the ball down following a penalty.

However with their finals future to play for Temora responded.

First Doherty found plenty of space to score on the right to score after 16 minutes before he struck again four minutes later.

The quick fire tries seemed to get the Tigers back on track and they capitalised on another penalty as Derek Hay found a way through for a 25-metre effort.

Hay's try with 11 minutes left gave Gundagai a 16-10 lead at the break.

Damian Willis extended it four minutes into the second half.

Temora had a couple of good opportunities to get themselves back into the contest but couldn't find the right option.

Instead the returning James Luff sealed the win.

First he slotted a difficult penalty goal attempt with 12 minutes to play following a tight accidental offside call before he made the most of some good field possession and Luff finally made it count as he broke out of a couple of tackle attempts to score.

Coming into the clash without Ryan McQueen (hamstring), who was going to switch to fullback with the return of Smart, Berkrey was thrilled with how the team adapted to the changes in the halves.

"We had a bit go against us so I thought Derek Hay really controlled that game the whole game," he said.

"I was really proud of the way Derek took over when PJ (Smart) was off.

"It's been a bit of the story of our year with things being thrown at us, but we will keep going."

However Berkrey is devastated for Smart, who returned after sustaining a serious shoulder injury in the opening minutes of Riverina's Country Championships campaign in February.

"I feel so bad for him as he's worked so hard to come back," he said.

"It breaks your heart as everyone knows what he does to try to play."

Royce Tout and Joel Field both failed to finish the game while Blake Dunn didn't play. The trio all have hamstring concerns.