Both teams had their work cut out for them on a heavy Chiltern ground, with just four points separating the teams at half-time.

The Swans were able to hold their opposition goalless in a decisive third term, enjoying a handy 16-point buffer at the last change.

But the Mountain Men weren’t about to go down without a fight, trimming the margin to just eight points late in the piece, before Chiltern rallied to put the result beyond doubt, emerging with a hard-fought 18-point victory.

Swans big man Jaise Coleman was strong in greasy conditions, while coach Mark Doolan proved to be the difference up forward with five goals.

Bodie Hibberson was again among the Swans best, while Liam Tobin and Edward Turnbull flew the flag for Mitta.

Doolan said the win was an important one for his club, which faces a tough month of matches, including big games against form sides Tallangatta and Thurgoona.

“This was a big win for our club, with the competition so close this year these scrappy games become all the more important,” Doolan said.

“We’ll take a lot of confidence out of it.

“Every team in this league can win on any given day, we didn’t show up against Rutherglen last week and rightly lost the game.

“If you play four quarters the way we did there aren’t really any sides that are safe.”

After last week’s disappointment against the Cats, Doolan said the Swans had focused on their backline, after letting “too many easy goals” through.

“The backline held up under pressure yesterday, and that confidence spread throughout the whole team,” Doolan said.

“We want to be able to build from our backline and we saw that sort of play in action on Saturday.

“They came hard at us late in the game and the players could have hung their heads and let them run over us.

“But to our credit, we stood up and won.”

A minor hamstring injury was the only dampener on what was an otherwise successful day for the Swans.