Australian Football

Match Report

The first match for the wrap takes us up Port Road as far as Woodville, where the Maughan Thiem Hyundai Oval hosted the only game involving top five teams, the Eagles versus the Panthers. The latter half of the 2014 season saw the Panthers pull off an unlikely double against the Eagles, after holding on for a one-goal win at Oval Avenue in Round 16 they would clash again in the Elimination Final where the 2011 premiers were dumped from the series by 20 points. But some measure of revenge would eventually be exacted, the Eagles taking a 29-point win in Round 9 down at Noarlunga.

The turnout was pretty disappointing, with 1,071 fronting up to a ground that resembled a dogs breakfast. The centre was a mudpit, no doubt leaving a hefty laundry bill for both sides. The Eagles broke out of the blocks despite the conditions, holding the Panthers to 1.1 while bagging 4.1 themselves to take a three-goal lead at quarter-time. That gap would be reduced to two straight kicks by the long break, South scoring 3.2 to the Eagles' two goals to set a 10-point deficit at half-time. The third quarter was a demonstration of wasteful football as both sides couldn't score a major for the entire term. The Eagles' four behinds to the Panthers' three would add a point to the home side's half-time advantage, an 11-point lead going into the final stanza. The afternoon would eventually belong to the Eagles, both teams scoring 2.2 to leave the three quarter-time deficit intact.

The Eagles named Nick Hayes as their best afield, while South named Adam Gulden as their best.