SWAN Districts kicked the only two goals of the first quarter and then the last two of the night in challenging conditions on Saturday night to record a crucial 7.4 (46) to 3.7 (25) victory against West Perth.
In the second last round of the WAFLW season, Swan Districts took on second-placed West Perth at Joondalup’s Pentanet Stadium, with the Black-and-Whites needing a win to maintain fourth position on the WAFLW ladder.
The win takes the Swans to a 7-6 record for the season, with a game and percentage lead over fifth-placed South Fremantle.
The Swans must now defeat Peel Thunder on Saturday at Mandurah’s Lane Group Stadium to guarantee a finals position.
On a night where goals were increasingly difficult to come by given the wet conditions, Taylah Edwards and Sienna Gerardi kicked two majors apiece.
Teen sensation Lily Paterson continued her dazzling midfield form for the Swans, with another 21 possessions to go with six tackles, three entries inside the forward 50, and one goal.
Young gun Sienna Gerardi also stunned at the start of the match with a goal inside 45 seconds.
Kayley King collected 17 disposals for Swans, with Carys D’Addario also collecting 17, Isabella Edgley (16), Emma Humphries (15) and Hope Ugle-Hayward (15), to go with eight tackles and five inside-50 entries.
The Swans opened up a 12-point advantage by quarter-time, with West Perth starting the second term with a goal to Brooke Hongell.
The Falcons continued with the first four scores of the opening 10 minutes of the second quarter, but the Swans responded strongly towards half-time with goals to Luka Davis and Edwards to lead by 15 points at the main break.
The Falcons closed that deficit to nine points with an early goal in the second half to Katherine Bennett, but the Swans responded courtesy of a second goal to Gerardi.
With the Swans leading by 16 points at three-quarter-time, they kicked the last two goals through Courtney Zappara and Lily Paterson to secure a crucial 21-point win.
In Round 15 of the Rogers Cup, also played on Saturday evening, Swan Districts lost to the unbeaten West Perth, who prevailed 8.16 (64) to 2.5 (17) at Pentanet Stadium.
The goals for Swans were kicked by Kirrali Richmond and Summer Ajduk with just one round of the Rogers Cup season remaining.
