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SWIFTS survived a seven-point scare from Edenhope-Apsley at Cameron Oval, Laharum on Sunday to advance to their third preliminary final in four years.
The Baggies led by as many as 20 points deep in the final quarter but two quick Saints goals cut the margin back to seven just before full time.
There was elation for Swifts players, who threw their hands up in triumph at the final siren, while the Edenhope-Apsley faithful were left to wonder what might have been.
The first half was an arm-wrestle, with neither team recording consecutive goals.
Swifts were first on the board when Luke Mitchell marked deep in the forward pocket near the behind post, but was put on the line by a 50-metre penalty.
It was to become something of a theme in the first half, with five of the 11 goals kicked coming as the result of 50-metre penalties.
With both teams boasting excellent defensive units, it was clear goals were going to be at a premium.
Aaron Chavasse and Ricky Whitehead cut off the first two Edenhope-Apsley kicks inside 50, and Justin Thomas read the play superbly at half-back.
Thomas played despite bone bruising on his knee, but Swifts co-coach Ben Martin and Saint midfielder Brent Christie did not pass fitness tests on their injured hamstrings and were sidelined.
Damon Folkes came off with an ankle injury for Swifts and did not take further part in the game.
Edenhope-Apsley coach Grant Coxon goaled from a 50-metre penalty late in the first term to bring his team within a point and a scuffle broke out at half-forward with emotion running high on both sides.
There was more of the same in the second.
Charlie Stewart accumulated plenty of possessions in the middle for Edenhope-Apsley and drove his team into attack.
Sam McClure also had a lot of the footy but occasionally missed the target by foot.
Saint defenders Chris Oliver and Chris Oliver were playing well, but Luke Mitchell started to dominate his match-up on Matt Close and looked like marking almost every time the ball was in his area.
Only errant kicking from Mitchell and some of the other Baggies kept the margin at nine points at the main break.
The game started in hot conditions but both teams elected to spend halftime on the field as a cool change rolled in.
Swifts' Isaac Rathgeber goaled first in the third quarter to extend the Baggies' lead after neither side could score for several minutes.
Mark Riley found a quick reply for the Saints but Mitchell goaled again to push the lead back out.
When Julian Carr swooped on a turnover from an Edenhope-Apsley kickout and goaled, alarm bells were going off in the Edenhope-Apsley camp.
Despite getting a good lead, the Baggies could not find the killer blow and Edenhope-Apsley came back with two goals to Taylor Milner.
Charlie Stewart was outstanding, setting up another goal to Riley to have the Baggies back within 10 at the final change.
From there it was a matter of which team could last the longest.
Bart Nolan had Edenhope-Apsley back within a kick early, but a late bump from Ben Campbell on Isaac Rathgeber resulted in a downfield free kick to Brett Hargreaves who converted.
Dave McLeish, Stewart and the Saints midfield gave their team plenty of opportunities, but the ball was repeatedly cut off by the likes of Jakob Davis and Nick Pickering.
Zach Salmi looked to have sealed the game for the Baggies with a fantastic goal, but McLeish answered at the other end with a desperate effort after fighting through several tackles at a stoppage.
Alan McIntyre added one only a minute later but it was too late for the Saints.
The ball was in Swifts' forward line when the siren went, sparking celebrations from supporters and players alike.
The Saints ultimately won plenty of ball out of the middle during the game but were unable to find targets in the forward line, while the Baggies had a great target in Luke Mitchell.
Swifts co-coach Paul Hanns was full of praise for Mitchell.
"He was fantastic in the air and did the basics right like playing in front," he said.
"He gave our blokes a chance at ground level and had his second and third efforts at ground level as well so he was a massive part of the win."
Other standouts for the Baggies were Scott Carey and Sean Mantell in the middle and Thomas, Pickering and Davis in defence.
"Our back six were fantastic with their pressure - they played man on man and wore them tight," Hanns said.
Edenhope-Apsley coach Grant Coxon said his team had not capitalised on its chances but could not be faulted on its effort.
"We kept coming when we were down which was the impressive thing but at the end of the day we had our opportunities - the ball was down there a lot," he said.
"You give the guys a pat on the back for the effort which was fantastic, but it was there to win and we didn't win in the end."
Coxon said it had been a successful year for the team despite the loss.
"There's no doubt this season has been a success for us, and we've already identified the things we've got to fix," he said.
"I don't think anyone gave us a chance at the start of the year, we weren't really highly spoken of, but we nearly found ourselves in a preliminary final."