It wasn't smooth sailing but the Baggies managed to pick up another crucial four points at the weekend, taking care of Taylors Lake in their annual Indigenous round clash.
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Missing a raft of key players including co-coaches Scott Carey (ankle) and Daniel Parkin (hamstring), the Lakers took it right up to Swifts at North Park early on.
Swifts missed several chances at goal while the Lakers proved clinical when they were able to get their hands on the football.
As the scoreboard remained close, the home side let frustration get the better of them, giving away several 50 metre penalties resulting in scores for Taylors Lake.
Despite going into the game as clear favourites, Swifts led by just five points at the main break.
"To their (Taylors Lake's) credit the didn't let us get our running game going, they controlled the pace," Swifts co-coach Scott Carey said.
"We were reactive with how we went about it. We were able to score with good passages of play but they were just few and far between in the first half."
The tide began to turn after half-time, with Swifts key forward Ben Martin continuing his good form from the first half after the break, going on to finish with six goals for the match.
Swifts kept the Lakers to just three second-half goals to win 14.14 (98) to 8.7 (55).
Carey said he was pleased with how his side responded, particularly missing experienced players.
"With two coaches and the captain not playing and the in-form midfielder in Ryan Folkes hurting his hamstring during the game, the boys were still able to stand up and play the way we wanted," he said.
Lakers coach Brandon Weatherson said he was happy with the effort his players put in.
"We fought well for most of the game, their bigger bodies got on top once we got a bit tired," he said.
"It is always a big challenge coming here (Stawell) but we stuck pretty well for a lot of it, with a few position changes working well.
"Our decision making let us down a bit as we got tired in the end."
The Baggies have a bye next week, giving Carey, Parkin and Folkes time to recover ahead of a crucial game against Harrow-Balmoral in two weeks.
Todd Matthews was rewarded for a solid game in defence for Swifts, winning the Tim Chatfield medal for best on ground.
"Toddy controlled the backline with intercept marks and was really solid once again for us," Carey said.
The win has big repercussions for the Baggies, now level with second-placed Edenhope-Apsley after the Saints and Natimuk United both suffered losses.
The Rams, Baggies and Saints all sit on 44 points with three rounds to play.
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