Prince Alfred OC storms past Tea Tree Gully to make div one Adelaide Footy League GF
Prince Alfred OC has stormed past Tea Tree Gully on the back of a defensive masterclass to book a spot in its third consecutive division one grand final.
Local Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Local Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Prince Alfred OC produced one of its best displays of the 2023 season so far to book a spot in this year’s division one grand final, the club’s third in a row.
The Old Reds went in to the first break down a goal but held the Gullies to just 19 points through the remainder of the game to emerge 16.19 (115) to 5.8 (38) winners and set up an exciting clash with Glenunga at Norwood Oval next weekend.
Chris Curran was a standout for the side at the back, picking off a number of attacks, distributing the ball efficiently and even booting a goal, while Tyson Brazel and Jayden Davis were dangerous up front, kicking nine majors between them.
Campbell Wildman was also important for PAOC, providing valuable run along the flanks and also hitting the scoreboard for two goals, while Jordan Neal rucked impressively against Blake Penney.
“We’re really excited, any time you make a grand final it’s a great feeling of both relief and excitement so we can’t wait for the week ahead,” playing-coach Craig Pitt said.
“I thought the performance was great across the board after a bit of a slow start and the way we were able to shut down their ball use and get the footy moving forward was a real positive.”
Princes were the fast starters in the affair but could not capitalise on the scoreboard before Luke Brown led TTG to an early lead, impressing on the ball and adding a goal from outside 50.
The former Crow would injure his knee during the second term as PAOC stormed back though, with Curran and Wildman dictating play in the contest and Brazel and Davis finishing off up front.
Pitt said his side showed composure to stick to the task and overcome the shaky start.
“We had some early chances we put away and then I think we probably tried to bite off a bit more than we could chew with our ball use in that first quarter,” he said.
“It was a great showing of maturity by the guys to not panic and continue to play our high pressure game style though and use our momentum with the ball to hit the scoreboard.
“We were able to generate space for our guys up front (Brazel and Davis) and take advantage of that.
“Jordan Neal was very good as well, he’s still developing and he did a good job on Blake Penney who is probably the best ruck in the competition.”
The Old Reds will get another crack at Glenunga at Norwood Oval next weekend after losing to the Rams in the qualifying final, and Pitt was confident his team could respond.
The side may be sweating the fitness of co-captain Tom Humphries heading in to the big dance however, after the team leader went down clutching his right knee in the final term.
“We’re a bit unsure on Humphries’ status at the moment, he tore his acl in that knee last year but the early prognosis is that he hasn’t done his acl again,” Pitt said
“We’ve had some good battles with Glenunga this year and probably performed pretty well in our previous game against them but dropped off a bit in that second quarter, which we paid for.
“They’re a fantastic and hungry team but we know what we’re capable of as well so we’re looking forward to it.”
Search for the next Konstas: The guns flying at U17 nationals
The search for the next Sam Konstas is already on with Australia’s best male cricketers in action at the Under-17 National Cricket Championships. See who has been firing.
Ranked: Top 25 Barossa Light and Gawler players of the 21st Century
There has been no shortage of talent in the Barossa Light and Gawler Football Association so we’ve ranked the best of the best. See our top 25 players of the past 25 years.