South Adelaide overpower Glenelg 97 to 77

SOUTH Adelaide took a half to warm up but when it did it was a class above Glenelg as Good Friday football came to the Bay.

SOUTH Adelaide took a half to warm up but when it did it was a class above Glenelg as Good Friday football came to the Bay.

A new-look Bays side gave hope to its supporters with a spirited early display and led by 19 points at half-time but the Panthers were dominant after the break.

A 5221-strong crowd watched the contest in what was a tick for Good Friday football.

As promising as the Tigers’ opening half was, the 20-point loss eventually flattered them.

The Panthers had 19 scoring shots to five after the long break and won the second-half clearances by 15.

The Panthers’ midfield — led by Joel Cross, Brent Macleod and Nick Liddle — dominated, while Daniel Bass was supreme in the ruck, as the Bays struggled to get their hands on the ball in the second half.

The Panthers’ three tall forwards Ben Haren, Brett Eddy and Sam Overall were dangerous and finished with eight majors between them.

“We were pretty happy to get out of it in the end,’’ South coach Brad Gotch said.

“They’ve brought in some smart players and their pressure was very good in the first half but to our credit I thought we lifted in the second half.

“The 9.10 to 4.1 after half-time shows we probably could have put a bit more scoreboard pressure on.’’

The Tigers, wooden spooners the past two seasons, showed early signs they could be a different proposition in 2015. The hard contested play from 2014 was still there but they had noticeably more pace on the outside with recruits Willie Rioli and Terry Milera impressing.

Lachlan Button opened Glenelg’s scoring with a nice goal from the forward pocket and the Bays banged through six goals to South’s four in the first term.

The match tightened up in the second term but Glenelg found a pair of goals from turnovers late in the quarter and South looked to have its hands full. But the contrast in the match after the break was profound.

By early in the final term South led by 26 points and had killed the contest. The final margin could have been greater but for its inaccuracy.

“I thought our first half was really good but we fell away in the third quarter,’’ first-game Glenelg coach Matthew Lokan said. “We just weren’t able to get our hands on the footy and they were able to capitalise on their dominance. The positive is we showed we can play the style of footy we’ve been training towards, now the challenge is to sustain it for four quarters.”
RESERVES

Glenelg 14.11 (95) d South Adelaide 14.7 (91)
BEST — Glenelg: Spriggs, McIntyre, Scharenberg, Nicholson, Bailey, McNeil. South: AhChee, Redigolo, Brown, Tucker, Rolfe, Steffe, Tharaldsen.
GOALS — Glenelg: Bailey 5, Spriggs, Edwards 2, McNeil, Scott, Nicholson, Johncock, Scharenberg, South: Boyd, McMahon, Kokkinakis 3, Ross 2, Steffe, Kappler, Brown.