Lumin Sports Match Report: Reserves Round 6 @ Norwood

Lumin Sports Round 6 Reserves Match Report

South Adelaide @ Norwood
Round 6- Cooper's Stadium - 7/05/2022

Goals: Shillabeer 3, Collins, Gill 2, Flett, Hoeck
Best: Rogers, Sladojevic, Shillabeer, Spacie, Hindes

The South Adelaide Reserves recorded a thrilling 7-point victory over Norwood at Coopers Stadium on Saturday morning.

It may have been 6 weeks in the making. But the Panther Reserves made sure their first win of the 2022 season was a memorable one as they fought hard to claim a nail-biting win at The Parade, 9.7 (61) to 7.12 (54).

This win is the Panther Reserves' first victory under the helm of the Reserves Head Coach, Alex Pigou. It is also the Reserves’ second win in a row against Norwood at The Parade.

It took a strong team effort that saw the Panthers come from behind to claim their opening win of the season – but a special mention must go to Cooper Rogers for his collection of 25 disposals, 15 tackles, 10 marks, 6 clearances.

Heading into the match on the back of a dismal result during the prior round: the Panthers looked lively during the opening term.

After Dylan Brown caught an opponent holding the ball at halfback, the Panthers were able to travel from coast to coast where Shillabeerwas waiting to finish this play with the opening goal of the day.

A crucial smother by Aaron Douglass then helped stop the opposition from scoring at the other end. But despite this effort – the ball continued to stay down inside the Redlegs' forward half.

That was until late into the opening term when the side rebounded with pace and, on the back of an assist by Jake Cresswell, Brian Gill was able to register the Panthers’ second goal of the term.

Then, continuing with their opening momentum, Shannon Jones was able to hit up Jacob Collins – who went back to kick the final major of the opening term which gave the Panthers a handy 3.3 (21) to 0.3 (3) lead at the first break.

However, things began to look shaky for the Panthers as the opposition stormed back. Sladojevic’sintercepting skills help keep the damage small on the defensive end but, on the offensive side, the Panthers failed to score for the entire second term.

Shillabeer opened the scoring for the Panthers during the third term. But, after a gutsy fly at the footy, Douglass went off the field injured – leaving the side a rotation down.

However, to ensure that his courage went rewarded. During the dying minutes, Gill was able to dribble through his second goal to hand the Panthers a manageable margin of 11 points at the final break, 5.5 (35) to 6.10 (46).

Following suit, Collins was able to get his kick away amongst traffic to register his second goal of the day. Then, Jack Flett was able to crumb and kick his first of the day to hand the Panthers the lead.

This meant it was 3 goals in a row for the Panthers. But a Norwood goal midway through the final term looked to be the sealer. That was until Hugo Hoeck showed his composure to level the scores.

Then Shillabeer, after a strong contested mark, was able to put through the match-winner just minutes later. The team’s best performance of the season resulted in their first win of the year: a narrow but meaningful 7-point win, 9.7 (61) to 7.12 (54).

Since the upcoming weekend is a bye, the Panther Reserves can enjoy an extra week on the winners' list before they will have to contend with Glenelg at ACH Group Stadium on Saturday, 21 May, from 11:30am.

Join the Family!