Round 18 - Sunday August 22, 2004
Riverina Football League
Venue: Griffith Exies Oval 2.10pm
Umpires: Paul Guthrie, Wayne Tilyard and Greg Walsh (RUA)
Griffith ................... 3.6 .. 6.8 .. 10.8 .. 13.10 (88)
Ganmain-GGM .... 3.2 .. 7.8 .. 12.9 .. 12.14 (86)
GRIFFITH: Jason Hampel, Simon Spiers, Damien Scott; Matt Bunn, Ben Wade, Rodney Simpkin; Ben Ford, Matthew McDonald, Brett Owen; Rodney Duncan, Jeff Mickan, Michael Duncan; Mathew Crack, Ashley Gardner, Jamie Bennett; David Curran, Adrian Burns (c-c), Shane Pound; Simon McClure, Trent Bradley, Myles Bunn
GANMAIN-GRONG GRONG-MATONG: Ben Sullivan, Adam Symons, Andrew Roberts; Drew Symons, Marc Braybon, Luke Walsh; Murray Hamblin, Eddie Sullivan, Mitchell Steele; Christen McPherson, Scott Hamblin, Nathan Irvine; Clinton Renner, Anthony Carroll, Daniel Underwood; Andrew Johnston, Brett Lenon, Brandon Ryan; Paul Hamblin, Chad Hamblin, David Logan
GOALS
Griffith: A Gardner 6, J Bennett 3, R Duncan 2, S Pound, M Crack
Ganmain-GGM: C Renner 3, A Johnston 2, S Hamblin, C McPherson, L Walsh, C Hamblin, A Roberts, A Carroll, M Steele
BEST PLAYERS
Griffith: S Pound, Matt Bunn, J Hampel, S McClure, D Curran, A Gardner
Ganmain-GGM: M Braybon, M Hamblin, B Lenon, E Sullivan, D Symons
A summary of match report, with thanks
The Griffith Swans blew the doors open to the Riverina Football League premiership wide open yesterday, toppling top side and clear premiership favourites Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong by two points. The big crowd gathered at Exies Oval was left breathless as the Swans clung desperately to the lead in the final minutes, hitting the front with seven minutes to go. It was one of the few times the Swans held the lead in the second half after Ganmain-GGM got on a roll in the third quarter, but it came at the right time in the game.

While the ladder positions remain unchanged, the psychological win was the biggest factor for the Swans, with finals commencing next week.

"But I guess there's no certainties in football, it's a bit like horse racing in that respect. "The home and away season is over now, and we finished well, but finals will be a different kind of football." Burns attributed part of the win to having a team's full squad for the first time against Ganmain-GGM this year. He said there was some nervous moments, especially when the Lions built a big lead in the third quarter.

"We just seemed to lose concentration there for a while and they kicked four straight, but we each knew what we had to do, and we fought back. Ashley Gardner booted six goals for the home side with Jamie Bennett kicking three before coming off injured in the third quarter.

Shane Pound, Jason Hampel, Simon McClure and Dave Curran were among the Swans' best.

(By Grace Uhr - The Area News, Monday August 23, 2004). 

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OTHER MATCHES - SAT: Eastern Hawks 18.14 (122) def Turvey Park 12.11 (83), Mangoplah-CUE 10.8 (68) def by Leeton-Whitton 14.14 (98); SUN: Coolamon 24.16 (160) def Narrandera 13.5 (83)

Reserves: Ganmain-GGM 25.15 (165) def Griffith 7.8 (50)
Goals: W Armstrong 2, G Dreyer, N Hetherington, R Frkovic, T Matheson, Chris Conlan
Best players: D Giorgi, C Conlan, N Campbell, N Hetherington, W Tyndall
Under 18: Ganmain-GGM 15.14 (104) def Griffith 10.3 (63)
Goals: P Dickens 3, T Harrington 3, K Hicken 2, D Crack, A Potroz
Best players: D Catanzariti, K Duncan, P Dickens, T Harrington, T Matheson