Australian Football

Match Report

The first of the five games finds us heading down to the Flinders University Stadium in Noarlunga for the southern suburbs "Big Blue" between the Panthers and the Double Blues. These sides ruled over their home patches in last season's two encounters, with the Panthers winning by 39 points at Noarlunga in Round 4, but at Unley they must have forgotten their goal-kicking boots. In a low-scoring affair, the Blues won by 11 points in a game where the Panthers kicked 14 behinds from 19 scoring shots. That was four more scores that Sturt, who kicked 8.7 that day. South would be the one coming into this game on the back of a victory, inaccuracy from the Magpies in the final term allowing the Panthers to overturn a 10-point three quarter-time deficit into a 10-point triumph at Alberton last week. The Blues got pantsed in their match with Glenelg, blowing a six-kick lead to lose by eight points at Unley. The Panthers were no doubt raging favourites here, but the Blues, probably endured a bake from coach Martin Mattner last week and it took effect. 

The Panthers blew several opportunities on goal, managing five behinds while the Blues kicked off to a 27-point quarter-time lead with their return of 5.2. South wouldn't manage to kick a goal until added time in the second quarter, along with four more behinds. The Blues would extend their lead to 37 points going into the long break after adding 3.2 to their tally. Signs of a possible comeback similar to Glenelg's at Oxford Avenue last week would no doubt make the Blues faithful in the Noarlunga crowd more than a little nervous, the Panthers bringing the gap down to just three goals only 14 minutes in with their 4.1 to one goal. Sturt would kick 1.1 after an eight-minute lull, putting them back into a more commanding position with a 25-point lead at three quarter-time. The Panthers kept coming in the final term, even reducing the gap to two goals early into time-on. But a comeback wasn't happening this time around, the Blues holding firm with their all-up score of 3.2 to 4.3 seeing them home by 18 points. 

Patrick Wilson was the Blues' best, with 19 disposals, two goals and seven tackles. For the Panthers, it was Mitch O'Neill with 38 disposals, seven clearances and five tackles.