NNW United have won their seventh straight game of the 2025 season, defeating Swan Hill by 25 points on a windy Saturday afternoon.
The 8.10 (58) to 11.17 (83) scoreline brings the Demons closer to third place, as they are now tied on 32 points with Cohuna.
After a headspace presentation, the game began with Swan Hill keen to impress early on, with their 1985, 1995, and 2005 senior premiership sides having a reunion.
It was a back and forth first quarter with the footy going one end and back.
But it was NNW United that were in the lead by 17 points at quarter time, both sides making a game out of it despite the cross winds.
The Swans were starting to catch up to the Demons in the second quarter, punishing the reigning premiers when they gave up the ball in Swan Hill’s forward 50.
The lead would be cut down to eight points by half-time, as the Swans full forward of Kallen Heslop had already bagged a couple in the contest.
NNW United’s captain of Dom Gallo wasn’t going to let his side lose to the Swans, however, and went out blazing in the second half.
The Demons managed to rebuild their lead to 16 points at three quarter time, punishing the Swans when they made mistakes and halting their momentum.
But Swan Hill refused to give up, as they were determined more than ever to get a result.
They stayed within touch, but NNW United with their bigger bodies, were able to put the game to bed, winning by 25 points.
The Demons co-coach of Jason Murphy spoke after the contest, stating that he was expecting a gritty contest with NNW United not having some key players in their side.
“It was an indifferent day, we knew the Swans were going to come up with strong high pressure, especially with their reunion happening, along with us missing some players,” Murphy said.
“I sort of pictured the match going like this, a bit of a grind but at the end of the day, our bigger bodies managed to hold on and we were lucky to hold on to the match.”
With the wind being as bad as it was, Murphy knew it was going to be tough, and they had to adjust to their game plan slightly, which resulted in making some mistakes inside their defensive 50.
“It was always going to be tough with the cross wind going across the ground, so that took out half of the ground,” Murphy said.
“We tried to play on the high side all day and the Swans were coming down on the low side, so it made it pretty scrappy between the two sides.
“We had to change angles to try and get on that high side so we could get away from the wind.
“We probably did cough up the ball a few times, particularly from the back half, making some mistakes that lead straight to goal for the Swans.
“It’s a little unusual for some of the boys to miss their targets, but we hope that it was just a bad day and we can put it behind us.”
As it’s interleague bye, a lot of sides will be expecting to have some players to return to the side, NNW United will be one of those sides.
They will be hoping Charlie Boulton and Brayden Bigham return to the side after their injuries, along with the possibility that Max Thompson will return after Bendigo Pioneers duty.
After the interleague bye, the Demons will be facing Cohuna at home.
Murphy will be hoping with a full strength side they can steamroll the Kangas.
“We will get our bodies prepped for that one, hoping we can get some of our boys back and really give Cohuna everything we got,” Murphy said.
“This is where the season starts for us, we are chasing top three and they are standing in the way.
“So we have to make sure we go all in on home soil and see if we can steamroll them.”
SCORES
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final Score |
| Swan Hill | 1.4 | 5.6 | 6.7 | 8.10 | 58 |
| NNW United | 4.3 | 6.8 | 8.11 | 11.17 | 83 |
BEST PLAYERS
3 votes: Dom Gallo (NNW United)
2 votes: Alex Erlandson (NNW United)
1 vote: Kallen Heslop (Swan Hill)
