Australian Football

Match Report

Game number three for the weekend takes us down to the Flinders University Stadium in Noarlunga, the Panthers taking on the Double Blues in a clash of the southern Adelaide clubs. When these teams last met in Round 5, the Blues were victorious by 22 points despite being ahead by as much as 45 in the final term. The Panthers would then win four of the next six games, including last week against West in tough conditions at Richmond. The Blues had a similar run but lost to the Crows by 21 points on a sodden and muddy Unley in Round 11. 

This was Sturt's opportunity to leap into the five and they started on the right note while the Panthers butchered a couple of early chances. The Blues scored five goals without a miss to the Panthers' 2.2 to lead by 16 points at the first break. It was the Blues' turn to get bitten by the inaccuracy bug in the second term, but the Panthers weren't able to make up any ground as the margin crept out to five goals by the long break, Sturt having scored 3.3 to 1.1. The third quarter was goal-for-goal with both sides scoring four majors each, a single point would be cut from the Blues' half-time lead thanks to South's two behinds to one. The Blues would continue to hold firm in the final term, they added 3.4 to 2.3 to finish the afternoon as six-goal winners and vault into fourth spot on the ladder. 

Aidan Riley celebrated his 100th game in style and took out best on ground honours for Sturt, the Panthers would name Joseph Haines as their best.