Wangaratta Magpies held on to win the local Ovens and Murray netball derby over Wangaratta Rovers by a goal in one of the most thrilling encounters seen between the two sides.

The victory pushed the Magpies back into the top five, displacing Lavington and setting the squad up for a run to the finals.

Magpies led the match from the start with at least a six goal advantage each break, extending that to a 10 goal lead at the last change before the brown and gold machine kicked into gear.

The Hawks outscored their higher ranked opponents 19 goals to 10 in that final term blitz to almost turn the match on its head.

The white-knuckle finish to the game continued an exciting run for the Magpies this season, including last week when scores were tied at three quarter time before being overrun by Wodonga, a three goal win the week before against the Hoppers, a draw with the Saints, a one goal loss to Lavington, and a two goal loss to Yarrawonga.

"It’s been a bit of a theme for us lately, but they’re great games to be involved in," Magpies coach Shea Cunningham said.

"The group is enjoying the challenge, and the atmosphere certainly adds to that.

"It was a really loud, intense crowd — very finals-like — which is a great experience for our playing group to be part of."

"I thought we were strong for three quarters and executed our game plan well.

"We did have a setback in the third quarter with Leah Jenvey going down, which meant we needed to reshuffle our attacking end.

"That took a bit of time to settle.

"Our goaling group didn’t have their strongest day under post, but I'm proud of the way they kept turning to post and putting those shots up."

Cunningham also praised Rovers who stepped things up a notch in the second half.

"Rovers lifted their defensive pressure in the circle and rebounded well in the last quarter and were able to generate some momentum through the midcourt, which put us under scoreboard pressure," she said.

"To our credit, the girls stayed composed in those final minutes.

"I was really proud of our younger players in particular — they made smart decisions under pressure, were able to force some key turnovers, and then convert at the other end to secure the four points.

"We came into the match carrying a fair bit of soreness and niggles from the previous week as well, so it was a strong effort from the whole group to push through that and get the result."

Cunningham said it was an important result for the side given the evenness of the competition and the ladder.

"It gives the group reward for effort and a boost in confidence, particularly moving back into the five, but more importantly it reinforces what we’re capable of when we stick to our structures," she said.

The coach singled out Holly Humphry for her effort through wing attack and centre, while Hannah Grady in goal defence and Georgia Clark at goal attack and wing attack provided plenty of drive, with Amanda Umanski topping all scorers with her 40 goals.

"Holly's work rate and ability to link play was excellent, and her sight to post was brilliant all day," Cunningham said.

"Our defensive end also had some really strong patches which gave us opportunities, and our goaling group showed great composure late in the game."

Jenvey remains the only injury concern and will be assessed later in the week for the clash with Albury at the Showgrounds.

Wangaratta Rovers coach Stacey Lamb described the match as "one hell of a game of netball".

"We want to be playing 60 minutes of good, hard netball and on Sunday we did that," Lamb said.

"The game was hotly contested and every single ball was hard fought.

"We were so pleased with the way we stayed with Maggies and kept applying scoreboard pressure. "

With Holly McCarthy unavailable, Rovers used Lainey Draper to roll into centre to give Ellie Miller a break at times.

"In the last quarter we put Lily Lyster on into goals with fresh legs and she shot 13/13 in 15 minutes," Lamb said.

"Sophia Pasquali and Sami Kreltszheim shot well all day and held strong in a very physical game."

"The vibe was super high and to play with such intensity and grit in the last 15 minutes and to chase down a 10-goal deficit built trust and belief.

"Every single player who took the court played their role and played a strong game.

"Our defence end in Sam Braithwaite and Lily Palmer were outstanding.

"Lara Judd was best for us in wing defence and Ellie Miller who moved into the centre role was settled and calm for us.

"Bec Kreltszheim played a strong captain's game and feed our shooters beautifully."

Rovers travel to Corowa this Saturday to take on the Roos, a side that defeated them by just two goals earlier this season.