AFTER a disappointing showing against Lancaster, Avenel senior coach Josh Delaney asked his players for a response and in Round 10, the Swans delivered.

"We needed to respond a bit better this week, as we were a bit off against Lancaster, who's a quality team," Delaney said post-match.

"We had a focus this week of yearning first to play footy for your teammates, and we showed we could do that for four quarters."

The Swans midfield set the tone early, dominating stoppages and working cohesively around the contest.

"I thought our midfield group were fantastic all day.

"Their clearances and the way they worked as a group was all class," Delaney added.

Still, it wasn’t all smooth sailing, with costly turnovers throughout the game allowing Girgarre to stay in touch, capitalising with sharp counterattacks.

"We let ourselves down with turnovers, and to Girgarre's credit, they were able to make the most of them," Delaney said.

But when the game was on the line, Avenel’s leaders stood tall, none more so than Delaney himself, who kicked three final quarter goals to help steer the Swans to a gritty win.

"We showed a bit of character in the last quarter when it got a bit tight, to be able to pull away with a win."

With finals still in reach, Delaney is eager to build momentum in the weeks ahead.

"Hopefully we can string a couple of wins together and push towards a strong finish to the year."

SENIORS:

Avenel 14.17.101 defeated Girgarre 12.9.81

BEST PLAYERS: Josh Delaney, Zac Hill, Luke Mahoney.

Zac Hill played his best senior game to date, and it was Delaney's final quarter heroics that proved the difference in a high pressure finish.

RESERVES:

Avenel 16.4.100 defeated Girgarre 5.3.33

BEST PLAYERS: Gus Norris, Nathan Thomas, Joel Ryan.

Gus Norris returned to top form with a dominant display in the middle, while forwards Nathan Thomas and Joel Ryan were too damaging for the Roos' backline.

UNDER 15s:

Avenel 11.3.69 defeated Girgarre 5.2.32

With several key outs, the young Swans played a united brand of football.

BEST PLAYERS: Caspar Leunig (outstanding off half-back), Blake Benham, and Griff Boote (excellent in the ruck, both playing out of position).

NETBALL

A GRADE

Girgarre 56 defeated Avenel 41.

Avenel were slow out of the blocks and trailed by 16 goals at halftime after Girgarre's strong start.

Positional changes in the second half, including Lou Jones returning to defence and Georgia Velt moving into goals sparked a bit of a lift, but the damage was done.

"Unfortunately, we lost this game in the first quarter and couldn’t recover the scoreboard pressure from there," coach Georgia Velt said.

"Although we didn’t get the win, I’m proud of the girls for being competitive against the reigning premiers, who beat us by 25-plus goals last year."

BEST PLAYERS: Madie Richards, Ash Hansen Arandt.

B GRADE:

Avenel 37 lost to Girgarre 39.

BEST PLAYERS: Jacinta Jamison, Maddie Williams, both veterans were outstanding in a gutsy performance.

C GRADE:

Avenel 31 lost to Girgarre 58

Solid effort across the court

BEST PLAYERS: Edenrose Dundon backed up with a second game and impressed with her work rate.

C GRADE RESERVE:

Avenel 38 defeated Girgarre 35.

BEST PLAYERS Olivia Williamson, Ella Flegg.

The girls continued their strong form with another convincing win.