Sturt’s Richard Tambling and Michael Coad the difference in thrilling win over Panthers

IT took the experience of Richard Tambling and Michael Coad to haul Sturt over the line in a thriller against South Adelaide at Unley Oval on Saturday.

IT took the experience of Richard Tambling and Michael Coad to haul Sturt over the line in a thriller against South Adelaide at Unley Oval on Saturday.

In a battle of this season’s surprise packets, the Double Blues prevailed by eight points but not before a few scares from a gritty Panthers outfit.

The game was an arm-wrestle as both sides struggled to get momentum, setting up a tense final term.

Fittingly, in the SANFL’s Indigenous Round, it was Tambling who proved the matchwinner.

When the game was up for grabs in the last quarter the former Crow racked up a string of important clearances in succession, kicked a goal after a look-away handball from Coad and returned the favour with two crafty assists to his skipper.

Coad had a funny sort of day, dropping the odd mark, taking a screamer in the goal square and only having nine disposals.

But he booted six goals — two from beyond 50m in the final term, the last of which sealed the game.

Tambling finished with 23 disposals, eight clearances and seven inside 50s.

“Tambling’s last quarter was pretty special,” South coach Brad Gotch said.

“He really stood up in a couple of key moments when we were threatening in the middle part of the quarter.

“It’s just something special, a guy lifting for his community, his heritage and his background, and it was really noticeable so full credit to him.

“It was one of those good games that could’ve gone either way.

“We fought it right to the end.”

Although the last quarter proved something of a shootout — Sturt kicked six goals to South’s five — the first three were dour with plenty of contested footy.

The sides entered the game sitting third and fourth on the ladder, separated by one win, and they were evenly matched on the field.

Matthew Crocker shut South’s Joel Cross out of the game, Jake Veide blanketed Sturt’s state game star Zane Kirkwood and the biggest lead to either side was 20 points — to the Panthers midway through the first term.

The final term began with a horror attempted switch of play from Sturt’s Kory Beard, which was chopped off and led to Brent Macleod strolling in to an open goal.

Sturt answered before a pair of redheads Nick Liddle and Macleod, who were the Panthers’ best players, kicked the next two goals to push South back into the lead for the first time since late in the second quarter.

Then Tambling took the game by the scruff of the neck.

The win leaves Sturt with a 7-2 record ahead of a season-defining three-week stretch that features games against Norwood, the Eagles and Port Adelaide.

“I’m rapt because I don’t think we played our best footy,” Sturt coach Seamus Maloney said.

“It’s a big three weeks (ahead) so today was hugely important to keep the momentum going.”