Australian Football

Match Report

Saturday arvo takes us up north, the Playford Alive Oval in Elizabeth hosting the match between the furthest divided teams in the competition -- over 50 kilometres -- in the Bulldogs and the Panthers. Last season, these sides went tit-for-tat at each other's stomping grounds, with the Round 4 match ending a long-standing hoodoo for South Adelaide. They took an eight-point win at the Ponderosa, where they hadn't won a game for 15 years. The Dogs however, would answer back later in the season with a 10-point win at Noarlunga in Round 11. On the all time ledger, these sides have only ever drawn once.

This was the Seven TV match for the weekend, and it started off with the Panthers controlling much of the first term as they kicked 3.1 to the Dogs' two goals to lead by seven points at quarter-time. Centrals would hit back in the second term though, bringing the gap back to just two points by half-time after they kicked three goals without a miss to the Panthers' 2.1. There was not too many highlights in this game, it was purely scrappy with errors on both sides creating headaches for the respective coaches. The scratching and clawing game continued when play resumed as both sides struggled to find real scoreboard impact. The Dogs finally got in front of the Panthers in the third term, adding 2.1 to their tally against South's 1.1 to lead by just four points at three quarter-time. The Panthers looked as if they bagged the match winner late in the final term as they camped the play deep in their attack for extended periods of the quarter, kicking 1.4. But a last minute goal to the Dogs would be the final play for the afternoon, a draw giving both sides a point each on the ladder.

Justin Hoskin was named best for the Dogs, while the Panthers named Xavier Gotch as their standout.