Griffith Swans finish level with Mangoplah CUE in RFL opener

The visiting Goannas were able to get their early footing with a 19-point lead at the first break, but the Swans were able to get the ascendancy in the second term.

Griffith dominated large parts of the second quarter but was struggling to convert that into scoreboard pressure.

That was until Henry Delves was able to make the most of a turnover at half-forward, and from there, the Swans were able to kick another to trail by two points heading into the main break.

The sides traded goals in the third term to see the crowd at Exies Oval sitting on the edge of their seat as the Swans looked to make a strong start to the season.

As the game entered time on, the margin remained two points, and despite the efforts from the Swans and the pressure, they were able to pile on the Mangoplah defence they could only muster two points as the sides finished level at 6.11 (47) to 7.5 (47).

While pleased to see his side come away with two points, Swans coach Greg Dreyer knows it was a chance that got away from his side.

"I thought they outplayed us in the first quarter and a half, but we did some adjusting, and I thought the boys responded really well," he said.

"We spoke about our pressure in defence, and we let teams run on us last year, and that was the focus and I thought we did that really well today.

"It was just skill errors and execution of set shots that let us down."

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The response to the Goannas start was something that was pleasing for Dreyer and showed the side is heading in the right direction.

"Three goals down at quarter time, so it was satisfying that we were able to work our way back into the game, but we weren't able to get the reward because of those errors," he said.

"The combinations will improve, and there was probably a bit of fatigue at the end there as well. With seven new blokes coming into the side, it is going to take some time for those combinations to improve, and you have to build trust."

The Swans reserve graders were able to come away with a 93-point win while the under 17.5s fell to an 80-point defeat.

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