In the Panthers ANZAC day contest dawning some silky guernsey’s it was time to work.

During the first term the boys would keep up with their opposition after an early scoring flurry from Westies.

Liam Fitt would show some class with his reply and first major, getting loose from his defender and kicking around his body 35-metres out, getting it to bend through.

Damon Freitag followed this effort with his major a set shot from 30-metres out, keeping it competitive.

Both sides were hard at it and the Panthers looked like they were hungry, making the most of their chances up forward.

With time running down in the term Fitt would take a grab and, on the siren, kick his second from 40-metres out giving the boys a 1-point lead headed into the second.

During the second term neither side could separate from each other, scoring coming to a near standstill.

In the lapse the passages of play looked disjointed from both teams as the pressure was so intense. 

Oliver Davis was hard at it in this contest and his work started in this term, he’d end with a smooth 29 disposals, doing all he could to keep his boys in it.

The only major in the contest would come late from West Adelaide. Leaving the panthers down by 6-points at the end of the half.

It was looking close for the entire first half, during the second half this would unravel.

West Adelaide turned it up a notch in the third and secured six majors. Four of these being unanswered at the start of the term.

Jake Summerton the skipper tried to stop the bleeding after he was awarded a free kick 15-metres out directly in front of goal, converting with his a major. 

It wasn’t pretty after this as West Adelaide continued to dominate, ending the third quarter up by 37-points. 

The squad had one quarter to put an effort in, but it was thwarted once again. 

Noah Howes would take a strong grab in the square at the start of the term and convert with a major bringing the contest back to 5 goals. 

West Adelaide would siege and despite Cooper Roger’s major in the midst of the flurry it wasn’t enough. The league side conceding seven majors in the fourth. 

Callum McCarty would lay 9 tackles in the contest in conjunction with his team high 37 disposals, making sure to work hard at any chance he could.

McCarty would also take out the 2024 Frank Barry Medal. 

Despite the promising start the league side would go down by 67-points.

T Panthers take on Glenelg on Sunday the 5^th of May at Flinders University Stadium in a 2:10pm timeslot.

The Reserves were looking to get a win on the board, faced against West Adelaide it was going to be a battle.

It was back and forth in the first the panthers would slightly take the edge with four majors Corey Grocock would be first up, replying to a Westies major early.

During the middle portions of the quarter is when the boys would unleash and put their stamp on the contest.

Dylan Brown starting the siege with his set shot from 15-metres out. Sam Hindes would follow suit with his set shot from 35-metres out. 

Grocock would break away from this theme and finish his work on foot with a silky goal while on the move.

West Adelaide would reply late and leave the panthers up by 4-points headed into the second term.

It was tough to separate these squads so far and the second quarter was no different. 

Brown would get the ball rolling with his major, making sure to finish after a clean passage of play. 

Westies were relentless at the footy, making sure to fire back whenever anything was thrown at them.

After two opposition majors Scott Bedford would do well to secure his major. A classy 40-metre set shot which gave the boys the lead back momentarily. 

It would become a battle after this as both sides would struggle to get forward. 

Just before the siren would sound West Adelaide would bring the contest to a stalemate headed into the third quarter. 

Both sides were competing with ferocity and in the third it was no different, the Panthers doing well to make the best of their opportunities in the hard fought third term.

Oscar Lovelock was a crucial player in the second half of the game, kicking three majors, two of these coming in the third term back-to-back. Providing a boost for the squad and building the momentum.

Through the term Riley Jones was looking impressive, he’d end the game with a team high 25 disposals. 

After the lapse the Panthers were still in the driver’s seat during this quarter, Hugo Hoeck would kick the third major of the term for the squad. Taking the ball cleanly out of a stoppage and throwing the ball on his boot around his body 10-metres away from goal.

It was looking positive, and the reserves had done well to bring the contest back into their hands with a 12-point lead headed into the final quarter.

With it still being anyone’s game to win the boys looked to put this one away. 

Most of the Panthers scoring would come early Lovelock would kick his third and final after a hard tackle, finishing the work with his set shot from around the corner.

Harvey Lambert would follow suit and give the panthers a nice buffer, but the game was far from over and West Adelaide would dominate the quarter bringing the game back to a 3-point margin after their barrage.

Luckily enough the pressure would lift off the back of Darnell Tucker’s 13 tackles. Stopping anything else getting through was critical to get over the line in this one. 

Two minor scores would follow for the Panthers and the reserves would squeeze by Westies by 5-points in a thrilling finish. 

With that the reserves would notch their first win of the year. It is crucial to build off this and against Glenelg at Flinders University Stadium on Sunday the 5^th of May in a 11:30am timeslot will be their chance to do so.