Under-18 Match Report: Round 15 vs Central District

Under-18 Match Report

South Adelaide vs Central District
Round 15 - Flinders University Stadium - 07/07/2021

Goals: Delean 5, Pilmore, Schirmer 4, Kirkland, Mitton, Pearsons 2, Birt, Howes, Inthavong, Rogers
Best: Mitton, Rogers, Delean, Schroder, Pilmore, Birt

A dominant display by the South Adelaide Under-18s saw them defeat Central District by 104 points at Flinders University Stadium on Saturday.

The Panthers hastily built an impressive lead by kicking 15 goals during the first half before continuing to storm home towards a convincing win, 23.16 (154) to 7.8 (50).

There were many strong contributors for the Panthers including the under-16 premiership duo, Tom Schirmer and Jack Delean, who combined for 9 goals. Meanwhile, Luke Mitton was especially impressive with 26 touches and 2 goals.

With the race for top spot heating up, the Panthers pounced out of the box early with 4 unanswered goals within the opening 12 minutes.

By the time Delean had managed to register his third goal of the opening term, the boys in the blue and white had already broken away with a 7-goal lead.

Mitton got things going during the second term by registering his second major of the match, then Ryan Pearsons followed suit with 2 goals within 5 minutes.

Registering 20 more marks than the opposition, the Panthers managed to dictate the majority of the game while also having a damaging effect when moving forwards as they collected 39 scoring shots from their 49 entries.

Some of those who helped the Panthers dictate the match included Isaac Birt who finished with 21 disposals and 9 marks and Cooper Rogers who collected a total of 23 touches and 8 clearances.

Holding an outstanding 15.8 (98) to 3.2 (20) lead at halftime, the Panthers did well to not rest on their morals but continue to push on, while at the opposite end of the scale the Bulldogs must gain credit for continuing to push on while the match was well out of reach.

Bailey Pilmore celebrated his fourth goal of the game during the third term as the Panthers managed to bump the lead up to triple digits before the final break.

Leading by just over 100 points, the final term was goal for goal between the two sides and the final siren would signal the dominant 23.16 (154) to 7.8 (50) win.

This was a much-needed percentage boost as the Panthers stare down the final stretch of minor season matches. The under-18s will look to keep this winning form going when they face off against North Adelaide at Prospect Oval on Saturday, 14 August, from 11:00 am.