Played in front of a bumper crowd at Hardinge St Oval, the Rams started quite well against the reigning premier, holding them to only two goals within the first 15 minutes.
However after an the Purples kicked into gear, with four quick goals handing them a 38 point quarter time lead.
Already facing an uphill battle, the Rams were hindered early with Josh Whelan's day coming to an early end during the first quarter due to an ankle injury.
With this Nathalia continued to dominate, winning all the remaining
Rick Gittens and Nick Howe were again Deni’s best players, shouldering most of the work in the middle of the ground.
Young gun Jake McManus gave a good glimpse into the future for the club, standing tall at centre half back, with Ben Irwin, Ryan MacDonald and Cooper Willoughby also providing plenty of drive.
Alex Hicks booted five majors for the Purples as Adam Jorgensen, Ryan Butler and Drew Barnes also impressed.
Final score, Nathalia 22.14 (146) to Deni Rams 4.7 (31).
Rams co-coach Sam Hall said the game reflected the class of Nathalia.
"To be perfectly honest, it (the final margin) wasn't a big surprise," he said.
"Despite the margin we weren't disappointed with our performance, the effort was there and we moved the ball well when we had it.
"Our message after the game was for our younger guys to see how a quality side like Nathalia use the ball and work together."
While not getting the result they wanted, Hall said that there was still one big positive to come out of the day, with a big crowd of loyal members and supporters.
"After the game the most heartening thing was seeing that all our supporters were still there and still showing up in numbers," he said.
"To walk into the clubrooms and see everyone hanging around with a smile on their face is quite pleasing.
"The support we've had after some tough times on the field has been very much appreciated.
"We're trying to breed a kind of culture to build to success and having dedicated supporters plays a huge role in achieving our goal."
The Rams reserves were unable to cement their spot in finals, suffering a 15 point loss to fourth placed Nathalia.
In an thrilling clash, scores were locked up at 22-all at half time, before the Purples built a two-goal buffer in the third.
Final score, Nathalia 6.8 (44) to Deni Rams 4.5 (29).
Better players for Deni on the day were Reece Hussey, Hamish Ross, Aiden Free, Brenton Hussey, Andrew Hogan and Jake Cavallaro.
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