Australian Football

Match Report

Now we turn our attention to one of the shockers from this round, we now head down south for the "Clash of the Cats" contest at the Flinders University Stadium in Noarlunga between the Panthers and the Tigers. Back in Round 7 at Brighton Road, the Tigers left it until the final term to outrun the Panthers to win by 34 points. South had a slow start that probably contributed to their eventual downfall, but it wasn't as if the door wasn't left wide open for three quarters. They were only two straight kicks adrift before the Tigers finally put it beyond doubt, though they could very well had won by a lot more if not for their inaccuracy. The Panthers were dealt a last-second blow at Elizabeth last week as the Dogs landed one last score to go down by a point, while the Tigers copped a 74-point hammering from Adelaide. But if that wasn't going to put Glenelg's finals credentials under the spotlight, well there was going to be more questions asked this week. The Tigers were held to just a single missed opportunity in the opening quarter, while the Panthers kicked away to a 25-point quarter-time lead after they scored 4.2. The goals continued to elude the Tigers in the second quarter, missing a further five chances while the Panthers added a further 3.1 to their score. At the half-time break, the Panthers were out to a 39-point lead and they wouldn't look back. In fact, there would be no need to look back. The Panthers defenders were doing a sterling job against the Tigers, who only weeks ago hammered the Blues and looked like real contenders. Not today. The Tigers would finally find the goals in the third quarter, but weren't going to make up any ground. The Panthers did fluff several big chances to hammer the point home, but their 2.5 to 2.1 did stretch their advantage to 43 points going into the final stanza. The Tigers would end up with their lowest score for the season, if not for several seasons, as well as having one of their dominant forwards in recent memory reduced to a spectator. South finished with a 2.2 to one goal final term to run out 45-point winners, giving their finals chances a much-needed shot in the arm. Keegan Brooskby was best for South, only managing 19 disposals but also made nine clearances and four tackles. The Bays would vote in Matt Snook as their best with 23 disposals and 10 tackles.