Panthers pounce on Double Blues to triumph in SANFL battle

SOUTH Adelaide gave its season a huge confidence boost with a hard-fought win over Sturt at Unley Oval.

Sturt’s Zane Kirwood in action against South Adelaide at Unley Oval. Picture: Peter Nelson

THERE has been a little uncertainty where South Adelaide was placed in the SANFL pecking order.

Not now. The Panthers are a legitimate challenger after conquering reigning champions Sturt by eight points in a hard-fought battle at Unley Oval yesterday.

And it’s only three weeks since the Panthers were highly impressing in beating top-placed North Adelaide at Prospect Oval.

While the Double Blues are still to click into top gear and struggling to find consistency, this was a terrific victory built on passion and a hunger for the contest.

“Internally we think we are a serious contender,” Panthers coach Jarrad Wright said. “At the start of the year, people were probably questioning the list with so many departures.

“The junior development program in place for a long time is starting to come to fruition and find some really good players.

“It was a gutsy win. What we do have is endeavour and fight. We probably lack a bit of polish going forward, hence we make it difficult for ourselves in some areas.”

The Panthers were under the pump early as the Double Blues bombarded their forward zone, dominating the inside 50m count.

But the visitor’s defence, led by Jake Summerton, Tyson Brown and Joe Haines, stood firm. They were also helped by Double Blues’ poor delivery deep into attack.

The Double Blues struggled to get consistent flow into their game against a committed Panthers, coughing up too many skill errors such as missing the short handball.

No more evident was the Panthers’ desperation than Tyson Brown’s attack on the ball late in the second quarter which led to a goal.

Not that the Double Blues shied away from a willingness to be involved in the battle and they took the fight to the Panthers. The tackling from both teams made life tough.

As the game lengthened so did the influence of Panthers’ ruckman Keegan Brooksby.

“We were good in patches, but again too inconsistent,” Double Blues coach Marty Mattner said. “Credit to South, they executed their gameplan pretty well. They were a lot better than us and were consistent all day.”