Seven-goal Lewis Johnston knocking on Showdown door

LEWIS Johnston warmed up for a likely Showdown call-up with a seven-goal haul in North Adelaide's 105 point win against South Adelaide at Prospect today.

LEWIS Johnston warmed up for a likely Showdown call-up with a seven-goal haul in North Adelaide's 105 point win against South Adelaide at Prospect today.

Sure to come under strong consideration as a replacement for Josh Jenkins in Adelaide's line-up, Johnston showed off the precision kicking which could come in handy against the Power.

"There was a part of me last night - when Jenkins went down - that thought they might have pulled him out of the game," Francou said.

"The best thing he could have done was play well today... you'd think he'd be knocking on the door."

But Johnston certainly wasn't alone in enjoying a day out against the shellshocked Panthers.

Max Thring and Nathan Blee both kicked three goals and had more than 20 disposals and Cohen Thiele - after failing to have a touch in the first term - finished with 33 disposals, including 17 in the final term.

"The message to him (Thiele) at quarter time was 'the worst thing you can do is sit back and spectate and not work' and eventually he worked his way into the game and finished well," Francou said.

South conceded the first two goals of the game but facing a breeze arguably had the better of the first quarter.

Brede Seccull and outstanding 17 year old Caleb Daniel were winning clearances and North played in to South's hands by regularly turning the ball over.

But the Panthers returned the favour early in the second, overpossessing the ball and going wide too often to hand over the initiative.

And once they had it North never gave it back.

South coach Ron Fuller was forced to pull the trigger on defender Jake Veide after Johnston's fourth - handing the job to Tom Fields - while also swinging captain Josh Thewlis back to defence.

But it made little difference as the Roosters kept surging forward in numbers, adding seven goals in the second term, seven in the third and nine without a miss in the last.

North, criticised for losing games it was favoured to win in recent years, has certainly found a killer instinct this season. It's past five wins have been by an average of 80 points.

"I reckon that's something we didn't have early in the year," Francou said. "It shows the confidence in the group."

It was a miserable day for the Panthers, who had arrived at Prospect having won three of their past four, only to leave with their third 100-point defeat of the season.

One of the lone brightspots came in the final term when Michael Wundke - who finished with four goals - kicked the ball high in the air, marked it himself and kicked a goal.

But outside of Daniel and ruckman Keegan Brooksby, South didn't have a winner.

"Unfortunately for us Caleb Daniel showed up a lot of players on how to go about it," Fuller said. "His desperation, his work off the ball and his leadership. I thought he was fantastic."