AustralianFootball.com Celebrating the history of the great Australian game
Round: 4 Venue: Adelaide Oval Date: Sun, 30-04-2023 12:30 pm Crowd: 4,432 | |||||
South Adelaide | 3.2.20 | 3.5.23 | 5.6.36 | 7.8.50 | |
Adelaide Reserves | 4.4.28 | 9.7.61 | 11.16.82 | 19.20.134 | |
ADEL by 8 | ADEL by 38 | ADEL by 46 | ADEL by 84 |
The remaining matches for the weekend would take place on the Sunday afternoon, beginning with a post-midday match up at the Adelaide Oval as the Panthers faced the Crows. Last year's two encounters at Noarlunga were both wins for Adelaide, with an 11-point win in Round 5, followed by a near 10-goal victory in Round 12. The earlier match was a tug-of-war, South recovered from a 16-point deficit to close to within two points at the final change. But the comeback was eventually shutdown. The later game was more clear cut after half-time, Adelaide going from 16 points up at the break to kick nine goals to four on their way to a big win. Both sides were on the wrong end of the stick last week post-Gather Round, with the Panthers blowing a two-goal quarter-time lead as the Bloods overran them by 22 points at Richmond, while the Crows handed Centrals a free kick in front of goal at the death and lost by four points at Elizabeth. The Crows managed to convince the Panthers' leaders to allow the game to be a curtain raiser at the Oval, but while I'm sure the opportunity would have been wholeheartedly embraced by the players, the fans I'm sure wouldn't have been so quick to do so. The two sides exchanged body blows in the opening quarter with the lead changing hands several times. Adelaide should probably have been ahead by more at the first change, leading by eight points with the scoreboard showing 4.4 to 3.2. But then the Crows show kicked into gear and perhaps the giveaway of a home-ground advantage was about to bite the club in the backside. The Panthers would be restricted to three behinds in the second term, the Crows running off to a 38-point half-time lead with their return of 5.3. The show stalled a little bit in the third quarter as the Crows had a bout of the inaccuracy bug. But the gap was still made bigger going into the final term, Adelaide kicking 2.9 to the Panthers' 2.1. Their first two rounds of football seem like a memory now, the Panthers' faithful that did come out could only watch in horror as the Crows tore apart what was left, bagging a further 8.4 to 2.2 in the final term to run out 14-goal victors. There were many contributors to this demolition by Adelaide, but it was Jackson Hately that was the standout with 31 disposals, nine marks, five clearances, four tackles and three goals. Mitch O'Neill was South best on a dismal afternoon, he finished with 25 disposals, seven clearances and six tackles.