Griffith Swans under 17.5s flying the flag in the Riverina League Finals

The 17s will make the trip over to the Narrandera Sportsground as the sole representative from Swans and will take on minor premiers Turvey Park.

Swans president Paul Rogerson said it is a big moment for the club.

"It is the first time we have seen our two junior sides come together and play as one 17s side for a couple of years," he said.

"We were undefeated last year and didn't get to play because of COVID, so it is two years of under 17 sides coming up from our juniors, and it's really exciting."

The Swans did suffer a bit of a lull in the middle of the season, but coach Phil Rowston is confident that the side is hitting their straps at the right time.

"A lot of that was because of injury, so we had a bit of a depleted squad there for a little while, and we did have a bit of a lul, but in the end, it probably wasn't a bad thing," Rowston said.

"We worked on a few things and have gone back to basics and hit their straps at the right time, which was always going to happen when the boys came out of first grade as well."

The Swans welcome back some key players from first grade but Rowston wanted to make sure the squad knew that wasn't going to be the magic potion.

"We were conscious of not wanting the rest of the squad to think that that was going to be the magic potion, they still had to play their role," Rowston said.

"The boys that have come back have stepped up in the leadership role and have lifted the standards at training, so it has worked really well."

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In the previous meetings between the two sides, the Bulldogs took the regular season games before the Swans were able to flex their muscle in the second round of the finals with a 55-point win.

With the Bulldogs playing the minor semi-final in first grade, some 17s missed that game, and Rowston knows it will be a tough game on the weekend.

"They will have a couple of extras who will come back into their side who didn't play last time, so it should be a good game," Rowston said.

"They are in a similar situation to us, they have a massive base over in the Wagga Juniors with two sides in each grade as we have."

The Swans coach knows his side has the ability to get it done if they stay in the moment.

"It's finals footy, so it's always contested ball, so we just have to stay present in the contest, which is something that we have been talking about," Rowston said.

"A bit of self-belief in there as well because they have the ability to do it, and it's just another game of football. There is no extra magic potions it's just about doing the basics well and doing them well under pressure.

"I have tried to explain to the boys that the further you go into finals, the pressure and the speed of the game goes up, so trying to keep your skill level up with that added extra pressure."

The under 17.5s will get the action underway at 9.30am.

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