Rupanyup, still without injured coach Jack Musgrove, started the stronger side, kicking five goals to one in the first quarter, before the Swifts settled to close the gap to 18 points at the half time break. 

Swifts coach Scott Carey said the first half was played on Rupanyup’s terms.

“They were able to control the pace of the game and we didn’t take our opportunities when we had them, which was unfortunate in the first half,” he said.

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“In the third quarter it was a tussle and we were able to peg the score back a little bit.”

The Panthers held a nervy 15-point lead heading into the final term, and it proved too little as the Swifts scored freely in the final quarter.

“Thankfully for us we were able to get our game going and really run over the top of them in the last quarter,” Carey said.

The Swifts limited Rupanyup to just two points in the final quarter, scoring 6.8 to win by 25 points.

“We did pick up the tempo and really started to play smarter in the final quarter than we did in the first three quarters,” Carey said.

“I’d like to think we have a pretty solid list and when it comes to the crunch we have the cattle to be able to step up and take the game on – it was pleasing to get the win.”

Campbell Matthews kicked five goals for Rupanyup, while Andrew Cameron and Daniel Parkin both kicked three for the Swifts.