South Adelaide edges closer to a finals berth after thrashing Port Adelaide
South Adelaide looks set to retain fifth spot and earn a finals berth after a 74-point thrashing of Port Adelaide
SOUTH Adelaide looks certain to retain fifth place and earn a finals berth following a 74-point thrashing over Port Adelaide at Alberton Oval on Saturday.
The Panthers’ 17.15 (117) to 6.7 (43) victory was built on slicker ball movement, heightened pressure and a desire to work hard for each other.
South kept its hold on fifth place and moved three wins clear of sixth-placed Central District and West Adelaide (seventh).
Tom Fields (27 possessions), Abaina Davis (26), Nick Liddle (24) and co-captain Keegan Brooksby (21) were South’s standouts.
Panthers coach Jarrod Wright was pleased his team was able to build on its 41-point win over North Adelaide the previous week.
“The past two week’s performances were terrific,” Wright said.
“It was nice to be able to get some scoreboard pressure on them in the third quarter.
“We just want to consolidate our spot now and push for finals.”
It was evident how important a win was to South from the first bounce.
The visitors’ pressure was strong and forced the Magpies to cough up mistakes.
Tyson Brown and Mark Noble were able to easily sweep up the ball and send it into South’s attack.
The Magpies just couldn’t get their hands on the ball and South kept them scoreless in the first quarter.
But the visitors did not make it count on the scoreboard and only held a 23-point advantage at the first break.
There was no question on Port’s effort and how it lifted in the second term.
But too many times were players out-muscled at marking contests or let down by poor skills.
In contrast, South used the footy well with pinpoint passes as players easily found space.
Power-listed Jack Trengove (31 disposals) and Will Snelling (29), together with Summerton (22) worked really hard and were Port’s best.
It was the Magpies’ fifth consecutive defeat and coach Matthew Lokan said there were little positives to take out of the game.
“Our second quarter was great,” Lokan said.
“But South had 25 scoring shots from turnovers, so that pretty much summed up the game.
“(It was) our inability to use the ball well by hand and foot.”
Port finally hit the scoreboard five minutes into the second quarter — a point to Power-listed Aidyn Johnston before a quick goal to Lindsay Thomas.
Their intensity lifted and they cut the margin to 12 points at halftime.
But that was as close as Port got.
South ran riot in the third term, booting 6.1 compared to Port’s 1.1.
The Panthers’ onslaught continued into the final term as they claimed a consecutive win.
SCOREBOARD
PORT ADELAIDE 0.0 3.4 5.5 6.7 (43)
SOUTH ADELAIDE 3.5 4.10 10.11 17.15 (117)
BEST
Port: Trengove, Toumpas, Snelling, Summerton, Proude.
South: Brooksby, Davis, Liddle, Fields, Noble.
GOALS
Port: Davidson, Thomas 2, Wong, Ladhams
South: Fitt 3, Davis, Cross, Kreuger, Szust, Liddle 2, Brown, Hunter, Rankine, Brooksby.
CROWD: 1474 at Alberton Oval
UMPIRES: Schramm, Scott, Bennett.