Australian Football

Match Report

The lights of Gliderol Stadium in Glenelg flicked to life as the Tigers faced the Magpies on Friday night. Last season saw a dramatic turnaround between these two sides. Back in Round 2 in 2014, the Magpies handed the Tigers a walloping of mammoth proportions at Alberton Oval, a 152-point gang-bashing felt around the competition in a match where Port kicked 29.15 to 5.7. But in the return bout at Tiger-land on the eve of the finals, Glenelg surprised the Magpies to record a 32-point win to have the last word between the two teams last year. Their last encounter could have been another contender for major upset of this season but the Magpies managed to hold off a fast finishing Tigers at Alberton.

The Tigers would catch the Magpies off-guard early on this time around, kicking 7.2 to three goals to lead by 26 points at the first change. The Magpies' attempted rally in the second term was ruined by inaccuracy, the Tigers adding a further goal's difference to their quarter-time lead despite their own poor shooting. Glenelg added 3.4 to Port's 2.4 to lead by 32 points at the long break. But the third quarter would prove to be a big part of the Tigers' undoing, the Magpies keeping them to just 1.1 while they set about repairing the first half damage with their 4.4. At three quarter-time, the gap was brought back to 11 points. It would end up coming right down to the final scoring shot of the match, the Tigers butchering the opportunity with a behind to go down by a point after Port kicked 5.3 to 3.3.

Ben Sawford was named best afield for the Magpies, while the Tigers voted in captain Andrew Bradley as their best on ground.