Griffith back in the premiership mix after maintaining unbeaten start to season

But they needn't have worried after their unbeaten start continued with a 51-30 home win over Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong on Sunday.

An 18-3 first quarter set up the comfortable win, which came as a relief for the Lions after playing in a number of thrillers this year.

They have drawn twice, against fellow top four sides Collingullie-Glenfield Park and Coolamon, became the first team to beat Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes since 2019 in a one-goal win and edged the Tigers by three.

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The Swans are outright second but just two points separates first and fourth on the ladder in the tightest league in recent memory.

"I think it was 18-3 after the first quarter and it was probably the best start of the season," Swans coach Georgia Fuller said of the Lions win.

"It's great the league is so strong, and it's good for us to finally get up there after sitting around fifth or sixth the last few years.

"The goal from the get-go is always to win, but you don't know if you're capable in the first half of the season.

"We've got a great bond and we've had that many close games this year. I feel if you have that bond you want to play for each other."

The win over the Goannas in round three at Mangoplah was effectively the moment Griffith realised they could do some damage this season.

"I think that's when we thought we're not fluking this. It was probably the best thing to happen early on," Fuller said.

"We knew we could win games that are quite tough. If you don't really think you can win you don't put in that extra effort, so it was really good for confidence.

"We just want to build these young girls up and hopefully keep having a strong Griffith team."

Fuller admitted having last year off due to COVID was a concern before this year, but it has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

"I was a bit worried having the year off, especially with the strong teams that kept playing," she said.

"To be honest we thought it was going to be a negative coming into the year, but what it's really done is we were just so excited to get back out there."

The top four maintained their form over the weekend with victories. The Goannas accounted for Turvey Park 62-22 and Collingullie-Glenfield Park beat Leeton-Whitton 58-49, while Wagga Tigers thrashed Narrandera 86-17.

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