The Swans enjoyed a rare win at Robertson Oval as Tigers gave up a three-quarter-time lead for the second consecutive week, going down 9.4 (58) to 8.8 (56).

Like in last week’s loss to Coolamon, Tigers broke the game open in the second quarter and went into half-time with a handy 15-point lead.

But that was virtually it, as Griffith narrowed the margin to three points by the final change, before kicking the first two goals of the final term to establish a match-winning buffer.

John Buchanan kicked his fifth goal with 10 seconds remaining on the block, but it was all too late for the reigning premiers, who now drop outside the top five with just three weeks remaining.

For Griffith, it was an important win. It also shows how far they have come, and Tigers have fallen, in 12 months.

Their last trip to Robertson Oval in round 18 last year resulted in a 125-point shellacking, where the Swans were held goalless.

With no love lost between the two teams, it was a win to savour for Griffith coach Adrian Pavese.

“Absolutely, (Tigers) are such a great club and have been at the top for so many years, ever since the Daniher era and obviously growing up in that era, to come to Tigers was always tough to get a win,” Pavese said.

“Shauny Campbell is doing a great job with them but we’re just happy we managed to grind out a win.”

The Swans were down going into the last quarter, with Tigers kicking to what had been the scoring end. Pavese loved the way his team dug deep and lifted.

“It’s fight that I don’t think we’ve had before,” he said.

“I said to them after the game, that’s the difference with the last two years.

“Normally that would have been a loss and we would have walked away and thought we had a crack at Tigers but they’re just too good. But tonight the belief mechanisms really kicked in and took us to another level I think.”

The win keeps Griffith in touch with the top three, just a game behind in fourth spot. While securing a double chance will be tough, Pavese is happy for it still to be alive after a slow start to the year.

“For the first time, in a long time, we mentioned (top three) during the week,” he said.

“We lost our way in the first five rounds, not enjoying the victories we were having and probably being a bit highly strung over the list that we had. We didn’t handle (the expectation) well.”

It was an even team performance from Griffith, with youngsters Sam Foley and Lucas Conlan impressing.

Shaun Campbell and Nick Ryan were good for Tigers, while Buchanan bagged five.