Port Adelaide couldn’t wrestle back momentum from South Adelaide in the second half at Noarlunga Oval on Good Friday, eventually falling to a 16-point loss.
Despite just one point splitting the sides at half time, a strong third quarter from the Panthers set them up for a win at home.
The Panthers pounced on Port Adelaide early and piled on six first-quarter goals, with a combination of strong tackling pressure and an even stronger breeze to thank.
The only upside of the ambush was knowing the Magpies would have the breeze in their favour in the second term.
Making the most of the conditions, key forward Ollie Lord kicked two goals early in the quarter before leaving the ground with injury, leaving Damon Pitt, Tom Cochrane, and Harrison Elbrow to kick a major each and draw the half-time margin to just a solitary point.
South Adelaide crept out to a 27-point margin in the third-quarter before two late Port Adelaide goals set the match up for a thrilling finish.
It wasn’t to be though as both sides were kept goalless in the final term, leading to the Magpies’ 8.6 (54) to 10.10 (70) loss.
While pleased with a better effort than last week, Head Coach Jacob Surjan was disappointed his side couldn’t quite get the job done.
“Compared to last week, it’s a huge step forward for us in regards to the way we want to play,” Surjan said.
“We probably just needed to hit the scoreboard a little bit more and put a bit more scoreboard pressure on, which unfortunately we didn’t do.”
Port Adelaide defenders were under siege from South Adelaide’s 51 inside 50s which saw Brandon Zerk-Thatcher stand tall and earn best-on-ground praise from his coaches.
“I thought his positioning behind the ball was exceptional,” Surjan said.
“His leadership down back was outstanding… I definitely felt like he was our best player for today.”
Forward Tom Cochrane also made a successful return to football after a luckless run of injuries and kicked a goal to cap it off.
“[Cochrane] looked lively at times,” Surjan said.
“He’ll be better for the run. He’s really exciting and he definitely adds something to our forward line.”
Other key performers for the Magpies on Friday were midfielders Jackson Mead (31 disposals) and Will Lorenz (26 disposals, nine clearances), while rebounder Rome Burgoyne continued his run of form with 26 touches and 10 marks.
Surjan also remained positive about the injury to Ollie Lord which kept him out for the rest of the match.
“We’ll have to wait and see what the scan says during the week and hope for the best,” Surjan said.
Port Adelaide will now rest for the league bye, before returning to Alberton Oval to take on North Adelaide on Sunday April 19th at 2:10pm.
SCOREBOARD
PA 1.3 6.4 8.4 8.6 (54)
SA 6.2 6.5 10.7 10.10 (70)
Goals: Lord, Pitt 2, Cochrane, Elbrow, Moore, Rigney
Best: Zerk-Thatcher, Mead, Lorenz, McLennan, Burgoyne, Moore
