LBB + DGS Women's Match Report: Round 7 South vs West

Little Black Bike + Daily Grind Skate Women's Match Report

South Adelaide @ West Adelaide
Round 7 - Hisense Stadium - 11/07/20

Goals: Charlton 2, Peters
Best: Charlton, Schirmer, Tahau, Buchanan, Smith, Whiteley
Injuries: Nil

South Adelaide continue their winning streak with a hard-fought 17-point victory over the third placed Bloods at Hisense Stadium on Saturday.

Despite having double as many scoring shots as West Adelaide, the Panthers were forced to fight hard in order to hold onto second spot, but an impressive second half display helped them set up the 3.11 (29) to 1.6 (7) victory.

With plenty on the line, the Panthers started out the better of the two teams but despite several inside 50s, South failed to convert.

The young AFLW duo of Nikki Gore and Hannah Munyard were impressive early, while Jaslynne Smith's intercepting skills made sure that the ball stayed down the Panthers end. But still the Panthers struggled to find the goals.

This was until the eventual best on ground for the Panthers, Teah Charlton, stepped up and kicked her first goal of the match.

Following this, young Gypsy Schirmer took an awesome contested mark as the Panthers looked to snare another goal before quarter time, but the siren bet them.

Despite having five more scoring shots, the Panthers headed into the first break with a narrow 1.5 (11) to 0.1 (1) lead.

Within the opening minute of the second term, the defensive trio of Sam Pratt, Emily Brockhurst and Smith all combined to prevent a West Adelaide goal as the Bloods attacked deep into their forward 50.

With the Bloods turning up the pressure on the Panthers, Indy Tahau attempted to open the game up with a rugby inspired run but still, South Adelaide struggled to get the ball down their end.

Re-joining the side after missing last week, Lauren Buchanan led by example as she won a two versus one contest as the Bloods continued to push for their first goal of the match.

South Adelaide were able to find some relief through Nicole Campbell who was able to clear it for the Panthers, but the Bloods kept coming.

Despite repeated inside 50s, South Adelaide's defence were able to hold firm.

A touch on the line by Elke Jarvis prevented a Bloods goal, while a beautiful spoil by Munyard prevented a certain West Adelaide goal as well.

The Bloods then came close to scoring after the siren but missed, allowing the Panthers a narrow 1.6 (12) to 0.4 (4) lead at the main break.

As the second best on ground for the Panthers, Schirmer continued to make her presence felt at half forward, while Madison Bennett was able display some of her signature pressure.

But after repelling so many attacks, the Bloods were finally able to breakthrough with their first goal of the match to which the Panthers were able to reply to quickly thanks to an awesome goal by Charlton.

Very late into the third term, a mark by Buchanan stopped another certain West Adelaide goal which allowed the Panthers to head into the final break with a slight 2.8 (20) to 1.4 (10) lead.

With the game very much still up for grabs, West Adelaide came close to scoring a goal within the first minute of the final term but it was safely escorted over the line by Brockhurst.

This, coupled with Smith's composure and some great follow up efforts by Pratt, made sure that the Bloods could not get a much-needed early goal.

Midway through the final term, Brianna Wedding stepped up with a huge mark in defence, while Cheyenne Hammond was able to break out with one of her signature runs along the wing.

Not to be out done, Czenya Cavouras also showed her pace with an impressive run through the centre.

These rebound efforts finally paid off, as the Panthers were able to tighten their grip on the game with Sheena Peters booting her first goal midway through the final term.

Likewise, Gore's signature tackling ability saw the Panthers manage to trap the ball in their forward line but despite having many forward entries, they still struggled to reflect it on the scoreboard.

The Bloods' best performers, Newman, Martin, and Thompson, all combined to try and mount a late comeback.

But Smith was able to stay strong and win a one on one contest deep in the Bloods' forward line to prevent any chance of a West Adelaide fightback and the siren sounded to hand South the hard-fought 3.11 (29) to 1.6 (12) win.

The second placed Panthers now turn their attention towards Glenelg as they will clash with the Tigers at ACH Group Stadium on Sunday July 19, from 1:40pm.

Show the Girls that your are #SouthProud in 2020!