Adam Quinlan field goal wins it for the Jets against Eagles in Group Seven

The Eagles squared the scores with less than 10 minutes to go at 22-all. But inside the final 60 seconds, Jets player-coach Adam Quinlan landed the killer blow with a field goal from short range to give his side a vital two points on Sunday, June 30 at Centenary Field.

Quinlan explained just how crucial the win - which keeps their finals hopes well and truly alive - was in the context of the season.

"It was a pivotal game in our season," Quinlan said.

"If we didn't get the two points it would have made it difficult for us [to make finals]. I've always known the character this team has from last year and being pretty much the same crew this year.

"The effort has always been there and you can't fault the character. I knew we would regroup at the end there and fortunately we got into a good position.

"It was definitely exciting for the spectators, but not for us. It was a bit frustrating. We were extremely happy with our first half. In the second half we thought if we played smart again we'd come home strong but the discipline wasn't good enough and they just rolled straight through our middle.

"It was hugely frustrating but credit to the boys to hang in there."

The Jets' player-coach said he copped a bit of family stick prior to kicking the winning field goal.

"My brother who was running the water had a go at me and said it's about time I stood up," Quinlan said.

"And in the end the ball went over which was a good result. It's a huge result with where we're sitting and the run of games we have coming up.

"They got us at home this year and we spoke about that and we weren't happy with that and we had to try and come here an win.

"The win is big for our run home, so hopefully we can get some momentum and build on that."

The home side got off to a stellar start with Kane Ball crossing in the corner after capitalising on an Eagles error to make it 4-0.

The visitors then scored three unanswered tries and took a 16-10 lead going into half time thanks to Matt Parsons, MaTori Atunaisa, and Quinlan.

Josh White's APOF then scored just before the break through Jiye Ellis.

In the second half, APOF got the score back to 16-14 thanks to a try from Oliver Parish. From there Nowra Bomaderry were forced to defend for their lives. After sustained attacking, the Eagles let their opposition go down the other end to score through Tom Latta for 22-14.

Two quickfire tries for the home side - but unconverted tries - through Mitchell Potts and Brandon Morkos levelled the scores at 22-all.

Enter Quinlan, who converted a field goal to win his team the game and to continue his team's hopes of playing finals football in 2024.

The win puts them within four points of Albion Park Oak Flats and Milton, who are fourth and fifth respectively.

Shellharbour Sharks recorded 10 wins in a row to start the season with a convincing 26-0 result against Jamberoo, Gerringong beat Stingrays 34-4 and Milton Ulladulla defeated Warilla Lake South 26-20.