Australian Football

Match Report

In the First Semi-Final, with the Panthers faced up to the Crows. The Panthers secured the points from both matches against the Crows during the home and away season, with a nail-biting one-point victory in Round 6 then a 38-point victory in the final round of the year. Again, the SANFL loyalties were brought to the boil during the week when it emerged that the Crows side this time around would be almost totally AFL-listed players with 22 taking to the field, something South coach Brad Gotch said this didn't bother him.

This was another match that could be called a fateful meeting, the second week in succession that the Crows would face one of their detractors in a cut-throat final. Like the Bulldogs, the Panthers voted against the inclusion of Adelaide, so that sense of deja vu was once again in the air. The Panthers started the afternoon's proceedings rather well, perhaps dispelling the perceived advantage the Crows brought into the match. The Panthers had managed to score 4.1 to Adelaide's single goal by time-on, but three goals during that added time would see South's lead whittled back to one point by quarter-time. And then the nightmare began. The Panthers began to wobble and the Crows swooped, beginning with them scoring 4.4 and restricting South to just one behind to take over control, taking a lead of 26 points going into the half-time break.

Surely the ensuing demolition would make the Panthers coach eat his words, from here the Crows dominated the suddenly mis-firing South outfit that had performed so well all year. They were over-using the ball and hand balling teammates into strife, allowing Adelaide's AFL class to produce near immediate impact on the scoreboard. The Crows' third term was the game and indeed spirit-breaker for South, a further 8.2 to 3.4 would put the gap out to an insurmountable nine goals. That's the way it would stay by the game's end, both sides finishing off with 6.2 each in the final quarter as the Crows' charge continued into next week's Preliminary Final with their nine-goal victory.

It was a horrid finish to the year for the Panther faithful, over half a century of pain continuing on for another year through an undeserved fate. "We look at it and we go 'what happened in finals?', its like we got spooked. We were clearly getting caught up in the occasion and weren't playing to the ability we're capable of. We started well and then all of a sudden we let them back in... it's like a mental illness." Jono Beech kicked seven goals in his best afield effort for Adelaide, the Panthers naming Matt Rose as their standout.

Sorry it had to end that way, South.