It was an absolute thriller at Mercury Drive, with Rumba having a chance to level the scores late in the game.
They were unable to convert however, with the shot from 40m out going through for a behind.
The Rams worked their way out of their defensive half, scoring a point of their own to give Rumba the ball back.
The home side moved the ball quickly, kicking it to the middle of the ground before the siren sounded to give the Rams the win.
Deni could not have asked for a much better start to their 2019 campaign, with the win away from home seeing them sit at 5-1 heading into the interleague break.
Defenders Anthony Bull, John Anstee, Ryan Brunker and Brayden Hall stood out for the Rams, with onballers Nick Howe and Ricky Gittens also impressive.
Rumba were best served by Jayk Papoulis, Cam Mahoney and Justin Terlich who battled hard in the low-scoring slog.
Final score, Deni Rams 8.10 (58) to Rumbalara 7.10 (52).
Rams co-coach Sam Hall said both he and co-coach Troy Bartlett were ‘‘really pleased’’ with how their charges played.
‘‘Rumba are very good on their home deck so we’re pleased we were able to grind out another win,’’ Hall said.
‘‘We’d lost Ash Morris early in the game with a hamstring strain, so we were one rotation down in the middle of the ground.
‘‘It was nerve wracking but we deserved to win. Everyone stuck to the game plan and it was a solid team effort.
‘‘Bully and Anstee were good in the air while Ricky, Nick and Gags (Todd Gallagher) were strong around the contests.
‘‘Ryan Brunker was solid in the back pocket. He battled hard, punched the ball away from his opponent a few times and just played well in general
‘‘If I was honest I wouldn’t have picked us to be 5-1 to start the year. It’s a good spot to be in before the interleague bye and we’re definitely not taking it for granted.
‘‘It’s a long season and I don’t think any side will be an easy beat this year so there’s still a lot of hard work to do.’’
The Rams will have the week off this week due to the interleague bye before hosting Tungamah for round seven on Saturday, May 25.
It was one-way traffic in the reserves, with second placed Rumba outclassing Deni in a 91 point win.
Final score, Rumbalara 16.14 (110) to Deni Rams 3.1 (19).
Better players for the Rams were Jason Allitt, Michael Farley, Clay Howe, John Allitt, Andrew Hogan and Logan Ives.
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