Australian Football

Match Report

It was Saturday afternoon football at Alberton Oval as the Seven cameras fronted up to cover the top of the table contest between the Magpies and the Panthers. The Magpies have let just four games drop from their grasp in the last 12 outings, taking a hat-trick of wins from a dour, low-scoring contest at Noarlunga in Round 20 last year. The Panthers' last victory came in early 2012 at Noarlunga in a game that yielded almost 40 goals.

Although the ladder positions would say that this was a top of the table contest, many people were in the belief that the class difference was going to be the telling factor... and it was. Keeping the Panthers to just one solitary goal, the Magpies kicked 4.4 for themselves to take a 22-point lead at quarter-time. Souths did fight back some in the second quarter, drawing the gap back to 11 points by half-time after kicking four goals without a miss to the Magpies' 2.1. However, that difference spoken of earlier -- and the subject of much debate -- would decide the contest. The Magpies ran rampant from here, there was little that the Panthers could do to match the Power-infused team that was presented to them. Port would ram home 7.4 to the Panthers' lowly 2.1 in the third quarter, by the final break the margin was blown out to 44 points, quadrupling the half-time deficit. This was a nightmare manifesting itself to many SA footy-heads, yet another top-five side swept aside with little resistance. The 'Pies finished it off with a 5.5 to 3.1 final term, taking the final gap out to 10 goals.

Andrew Moore won best on ground honours for the Magpies, while the Panthers named Keegan Brooksby as their standout, putting a stamp on his case for state selection.