The bragging rights belong to the Griffith Swans following a 32-point win over their local rivals and defending champions in Leeton-Whitton Crows in front of a vocal crowd at Exies Oval on Saturday night.
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In Guy Orton 100th game the Swans stood tall and kept the Crows goal-less in the final term to come away with the 9.14 (68) to 5.6 (36) victory.
Swans’ coach Will Griggs said it was no surprise his boys were up for the game.
“He is a huge part of our team, and if you can't get up for a guy like that then we would have had a few troubles, but everyone was pumped for it,” he said.
“Everyone just played their role, and in that last quarter, we made mention if once you get tired just look at him.
“He has been doing this for near 15 years, and he is the heart and soul of the team.”
Griggs paid credit to the way his backline performance knowing they would need a four-quarter performance to get the win.
“We were able to get a lot of run and drive out of there and switching the play and making the right decisions,” he said.
“I think that was one thing last week where we fell down a little bit just our decision making out of the backline.
“We changed a few things around, and it was good having Mick Duncan back there to set us up.
“James Taylor on Muir (Daniel) did a fantastic job I think. Not sure how many he kicked but he kicked nine last week, and we thought we kept him pretty accountable.”
Lucas Conlan had a strong game with four goals while Ben King kicked two and a strong performance in the final term along with 17-year-old Isaac Campbell who drew praise from Griggs.
“Isaac Campbell his best game yet,” he said.
“Benny King in the last quarter lead the way in and under, probably had six or seven clearances in a row.”
While those two were standout, Griggs praised his side’s work effort which he felt was a big step up from last week against GGGM.
“Our work to isolate the free player and get the overlap out in space I thought was a lot better than last week,” he said.
“We said we didn't work hard enough last week and that’s what it comes down to. If you are standing still in open play, then you are probably not doing your job.”
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