SWIFTS’ Jekyll and Hyde act continued at the weekend as the Baggies shocked Taylors Lake to win by two points at North Park, Stawell.
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The Lakers led for most of the day but errant kicking at goal and lack of forward pressure allowed the Baggies to run over the top for a 17.4 (106) to 15.14 (104) win in the dying minutes.
The reigning premier has been the hardest team in the league to predict this season.
The Baggies have good wins against finals contenders like Edenhope-Apsley and Jeparit-Rainbow.
However, they entered Saturday’s clash against the Lakers having lost to Laharum by 202 points and eighth-placed Noradjuha-Quantong by 91 in their past two matches.
Coach Paul Hanns said his side needed to change its attitude, and it did just that.
The team persevered despite trailing for most of the afternoon, and did not let the margin exceed 13 points at any change.
Vice captain Jake Goodes played his best game of the season, providing plenty of run off half-back.
The strong-marking Andrew Cameron had a huge impact up forward with eight goals, and was also effective in brief stints further up the ground.
With defenders Justin Thomas and Justin Harney late withdrawals for the Baggies, several reserves and junior players were forced to step up in the seniors.
Youngsters Kyle Ryan and Corey Prydderch combined in an important passage of play late in the final term, with Ryan marking on a flank and finding Prydderch, who kicked truly.
Midfielder Sean Mantell was well held for most of the day but kicked the match-winning goal in the final two minutes from an extremely tight angle on the boundary.
The win keeps Swifts’ slight finals hopes alive, but Hanns said the win was important whether they played finals or not.
“Injuries have really affected the players, but once we got the guys into the side that had the right mindset and wanted to have a go, the rest of the boys got that belief,” he said.
The Lakers were well-served by Carl Thiesz’s rebound from defence and skipper Josh Young played his best game of the season.
Co-coach Pat Purcell lamented the team’s inability to put pressure on the Baggies.
“They used the ball better and we were missing targets, missing easy shots on goal and our forwards were terrible,” he said.
Taylors Lake’s day was compounded by early injuries to Corey Williams, hamstring, and Dylan Young, collarbone.
