Port Adelaide couldn’t match Central District after a seven goal second-quarter surge, falling to a 65-point loss to close out the season.
The Magpies struggled to combat an emotionally charged Central District side, who were farewelling club stalwart Aiden Grace and senior coach Paul Thomas in the Round 19 clash at X Convenience Oval.
An onslaught of goals in the second saw the Bulldogs hand down a 9.5 (59) to 19.10 (124) loss to end the Magpies SANFL season.
The Bulldogs burst out of the blocks with three goals within the first five minutes of the game, before the Magpies could even register an inside 50. Fighting back, forward Heath Growden slotted two of the Magpies’ four goals to get to quarter time just seven points down.
The second quarter started similarly to the first as the Dogs kicked two goals in quick succession, except there was no Port Adelaide response this time as the home side kicked seven goals to extend the margin at the main break to 45 points.
The Magpies showed effort and clawed some goals in back in the second half via Tom Cochrane (two goals) and Dakota Sterzl (15 disposals, two goals) but ultimately the damage was done as the Dogs ran out 65-point victors.
Despite the defeat, Jackson Mead (32 disposals, seven clearances) and Michael Cavallaro (27 disposals, 11 marks) had great individual games, whereas youngster Dougie Cochrane continued his fine form with 23 touches and seven marks in the backline.
Coach Jacob Surjan highlighted his side’s ability to fight back and register score, but acknowledged they couldn’t sustain it on Saturday.
“We looked a bit panicky,” Surjan said.
“But then we settled and started using the ball a lot better. We won the third quarter and showed if we can play the way we want to, we can compete.”
Although it was a challenging year on the injury front, Surjan was proud to look back on the resilience his team showed.
“From a coaching perspective, I’m really proud,” Surjan said.
“We’ve been able to move the magnets around and sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t.”
Looking back on strong performers across the year, Surjan praised his captain Jez McLennan, defender-turned-forward Xavier Walsh, and the SANFL-contracted players who stood up.
“Jez has been great… the SANFL-contracted boys have come in and played a huge role,” Surjan said.
“Walsh has had a really strong year for us up forward… a lot of the guys have improved with the way they play footy.”
“We’ll look forward to a strong pre-season and we’re looking forward to seeing what the boys can achieve next year.”
Port Adelaide finishes the 2026 SANFL season in 10th position with a 3-15 win-loss record.
SCOREBOARD
PA 4.1 5.2 7.5 9.5 (59)
CD 5.4 12.5 14.6 19.10 (124)
Goals: T Cochrane, Growden, Sterzl 2, Kempe, Pitt, Tarca
Best: Cavallaro, Mead, McLennan, Sterzl, D Cochrane, Thompson
