Goulburn Swans beat the Yass Roos in thriller

That was the big question in the final stages of the thriller between the Swans and the Yass Roos at Goodhew Park in Goulburn on Saturday, April 2 and the umpires said yes.

As a result, the decision was a ball in and not a shot at goal for the Roos.

The away side, which was within striking distance at the time, sent the ball inside 50 and Swans player coach Simon Treloar explained the events that followed.

"I was right next to Munroe when it happened," Treloar said.

"He didn't make good connection with it.

"He wanted to kick the ball, but it came off the back part of his shoe.

"Luckily for us, it wasn't paid [deliberate]."

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Moments before that incident, Clayton Woodberry gave away a 50m penalty for placing the ball on the ground and not returning the ball on the full to the opponent he infringed, resulting in a Roos' goal.

Woodberry said he simply "didn't know it was a rule".

"Everyone dug into me, including my mum," he said.

Fortunately for the Swans, that error didn't cost them and they held on to a 61-47 win in the opening round of The Canberra Times fourth grade mens AFL competition.

Treloar was extremely impressed with what he saw from his young side.

"It was hard-fought and the boys kept at it even when Yass came at us in the last 10 minutes," he said.

"They kept their cool which was great to see.

"It was pleasing to see we wanted to win more than anything.

"It's a young squad, but based on today, we've got a lot to work with.

"It's going to be really good to see the boys improve throughout the year."

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Roos player coach Dominic Johns, on the other hand, wasn't impressed with his side's effort even though they were missing a lot of their main players and just managed to field a team.

"It was a very winnable game for us," Johns said.

"I'm not happy with the effort at all and I think it could have been a lot better.

"I think that's what let us down across the ground.

"We want to finish in one of the top two spots, but after today, it's going to require a lot more work."

Unfortunately for Roos veteran Brad Porter, he couldn't celebrate his 150^th game in style, but Johns had plenty of praise for him.

"He's been here for over 10 years and is probably the longest serving player for the club," he said.

"I think he's only missed a handful of games.

"He's a legend of the club."

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The Swans also took home the Burnass Cup, a trophy up for grabs every time the two sides go head to head.

In other results, the Googong Hogs were too good for the Southern Cats, the ANU Griffins demolished the Batemans Bay Seahawks, the Molonglo Juggernauts squeezed past the Ainslie Tricolours by five points and the Murrumbateman Eagles beat the Woden Blues.

Next up for the Swans is a clash with the Cats in Kambah from midday on Saturday, April 9 while the Roos go to ANU South Oval on the same day to take on the Griffins.

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