Round 8 Glenelg v South Match Report

It’s fair to say this game won’t go down as one of the classics, but it was a fierce and intense battle for four quarters. You could even say it was finals like, with the ball seemingly forever inside the contest and players rarely having time and space.

It certainly wasn’t a reflection of how we want to play, but it showed another side that suggests we are beginning to mature and can now win games in a few different ways. I am certainly not suggesting this was how South Adelaide wanted to play either, but when you get two good and evenly matched sides against each other, often it becomes more like a contested game of chess with neither team backing down.

We started strongly with the ball locked in our forward half for the first half of the first quarter, but our delivery going forward was very poor and as a result could only manage a scrambling goal to Chelsea Packer for this dominance. South Adelaide then wrestled the momentum off us, but pleasingly we defended really well to only concede two behinds.

Rinse and repeat for the second quarter. Another arm wrestle where both teams had sustained periods of territory dominance. A goal each was all the scoreboard showed, with both defences on top. Our goal came from Sarah Wilton, who took a strong contested mark and kicked truly.

The grind continued after the main break, but there were some signs that South Adelaide were starting to get some control of the game, especially at stoppages. This meant that we were defending for long periods of time. We conceded a goal within the first minute, then a couple of tough chances weren’t taken by our opponents. We did defend exceptionally well, which has been an area that we have improved significantly this season.

Down by 4 points to start the final quarter, the way the game was being played we needed to find something special to give us any chance of winning the game. The tough contest continued throughout the last quarter with neither team giving an inch or taking a backward step. Thirteen minutes into the quarter Sarah Goodwin had a deep forward 50 entry that Chelsea Packer was able to bring to ground, which allowed Maddie Green to kick a quality crumbing goal against her old club. This put us up by 2 points. Whilst South Adelaide would get the ball forward a number of times in the remaining few minutes, our backline stood strong and we managed to keep them scoreless for the quarter.

Our backline was again strong for the entire game, which was once again lead well by Sheridan Howell. Brooke Tonon, who returned from SA U19 duties, along with Ellen Tyminski and Lucy Earl also lifted in the last quarter to provide us with some very important rebound from defence. Ellie Kellock, Jess Bates, Laura Chigwidden, Maddie Green and Tessa Kohn were tough in the contest all game. Special mention to Anja Bancevic who had an incredible 10 hit outs to advantage against a very well credentialed and AFLW listed opponent.

Whilst we consolidate second spot on the ladder for a week, the task ahead for us is another tough one as we prepare to take on North Adelaide 3:40pm Saturday 1^st May at Prospect Oval. Stakes are high with the winner going clear in second spot.

– Jason Fairall, Senior Coach

Goals: Chelsea Packer (1), Sarah Wilton (1), Maddie Green (1)

Best: Brooke Tonon, Jess Bates, Ellie Kellock, Tessa Kohn, Anja Bancevic, Laura Chigwidden, Maddie Green, Sheridan Howell

Each year, the Past Player & Officials Committee nominates a Trademark Player at each League home game, as well as an overall Trademark Player Award at the GFC Best & Fairest.

For the very first time, the PP&O Committee is proud to announce that they will also nominate a Women’s Trademark Player for each home game and an overall Women’s Trademark Player Award. Keith Kuhlmann, Chairman of the PP&O, congratulated the first two award winners, Jessica Bates and Lucy Earl, at the Round 8 post-match celebrations on Saturday night.