South Adelaide U16s pounced on a thrilling win while the Panther U18s fell to a tough loss during their matches at Coopers Stadium on Saturday.

A late fightback by the Panther Under-16s saw them snatch a thrilling win; one that also sees them hold onto the top spot, 10.14. (74) to 9.6 (60). Unfortunately, the Panther under-18s didn’t go as well as they fell to a tough 62-point loss, 9.11 (65) to 20.7 (127).

Highlights were hard to find during the under-18s result. However, there were strong performances from Jayden Christophers, who finished 20 disposals, 9 tackles, and 6 clearances; Jye Bottroff, who had 16 disposals and 6 tackles; and Jack Delean, who collected 11 disposals and 2 goals. 

Other than that, it was a rather tough day for the boys in blue and white. Trailing by 3 goals at quarter time, then by 41 points at halftime – the Panthers kept fighting, even when the result was clear, but they were simply outmatched.

And, after coming into the match as the underdogs, this fast start by the home side saw the Panthers slump to a tough 62-point defeat, 9.11 (65) to 20.7 (127).

During this same day, the Panthers found themselves on the other side of an underdogs’ clash. The Panther Under-16s, who sat at the top of the table, had to shake a determined bottom-dwelling Norwood side.

Trailing by a point at the first break, the Panthers seemingly wrestled control of the match and were heading toward an expected win. But the home side drastically closed the gap during the third term by booting 4 goals to the Panthers’ 2. And this set the stage for an intense final quarter.

The Redlegs took the lead early – thanks to 2 unanswered goals within as many minutes. By then, it looked like an upset was looming. Sitting 9 points down, with only 10 minutes left to play, the Panthers had to turn things around fast.

Dakota Sterzl brought the deficit down to 3 points following his fourth goal of the day. Then Jake Agnew – after selling a bit of candy – kicked an eye-catching goal to hand the Panthers the lead.

This crucial goal swung the momentum into the Panthers’ favour and – after a string of behinds – Jay Chapman finished the deal with his first of the day to increase the winning margin to 14 points, 10.14 (74) to 9.6 (60).

Besides Sterzl’s 4 goal haul and the heroic actions of Agnew; there were many other strong contributors for the Panthers. 

Benny Barrett was of course one of them thanks to his collection of 21 disposals, 7 clearances, and 6 tackles. Also impressive were Cohen Shortridge, 19 disposals and 3 marks; and Alan Singh, 12 disposals and 6 tackles.

The South Adelaide Under-16s will look to continue their winning ways when they face off against Sturt at Flinders University Stadium on Saturday, 23 July, from 11:00am. The Panther Under-18s will then follow suit from 1:15pm. 

South Adelaide Under-18 @ Norwood Under-18
Round 14 - Coopers Stadium - 16/07/2022

Goals: Delean, Grocock, Verrall 2, Churchill, Cockshell, Rodrigues
Best: Rodrigues, Bottroff, Delean, Oliver, Smith

South Adelaide Under-16 @ Norwood Under-16
Round 14 - Coopers Stadium - 16/07/2022

Goals: Sterzl 4, Agnew, Florance 2, Chapman, Singh
Best: Agnew, Sterzl, Florance, Barrett, Singh