PIMPINIO held its nerve in a close game for the first time this season to defeat reigning premier Swifts at Stawell’s North Park on Saturday.

The Tigers were winless entering round eight, but had nearly tasted success in close matches against Edenhope-Apsley and Rupanyup.

In sodden conditions at Stawell, they found a way to win in a tense last quarter.

The Tigers led by four points at three-quarter-time after trailing for most of the first half.

The Baggies kicked a goal to regain the lead half-way through the last quarter, but Pimpinio answered through Kieran Fraser.

Matt Ward, who was outstanding for the Tigers, marked the ball on a forward flank and looked for options ahead.

Fraser ran nearly 60 metres from the wing into space, and Ward found him with a pass in the pocket.

Fraser converted the set shot to give his side the lead for good, although the Baggies had chances to score and could not convert.

Pimpinio coach Mathew Everett said the result would do wonders for the Tigers’ self-belief.

‘‘They got themselves in front in the last quarter, so we had to fight and score to win, which was excellent,’’ he said.

‘‘A lot of sides don’t anticipate how physical we are because of the way our side has gone in the past couple of years, so I think we surprised them.’’

Everett praised the play of Daniel Baker at half-back and the contributions of younger players including Jordan Cramer and Aaron Prior-Stroud.

Swifts suffered a blow when captain Scott Carey rolled his ankle in the first quarter, leaving the Baggies down a rotation for the rest of the game.

Coach Paul Hanns said his side had not played smartly.

‘‘We didn’t adapt to the conditions and tried to play dry-weather football,’’ he said.

‘‘We were overusing it with too many handballs, and a lot of their scores came from turnovers when we tried to switch the ball in the backline.

‘‘They were able to keep themselves in the hunt all day because they wanted it more than we did and played the conditions well.’’

Brad Sproule was reported for making high contact with a Swifts player in the second quarter.

Everett said Sproule was likely to challenge the charge at the tribunal this week.