The Juniors struggled against the Roosters at Prospect.

South Adelaide Under-18 V Sturt Under-18
Round 14 - Flinders University Stadium - 15/07/2023

Goals: Agnew 4, Delean, Ross 2, Borlace, Goad, Oliver, Shortridge
Disposals: Hargrave 22, Wheaton 19, Goad 17, Agnew 16, Shortridge 13
Best: Goad, Wheaton, Agnew, Hargrave, Schroder

The Under-18's were out for revenge after the narrow loss to North Adelaide last week. In Round 14 Sturt were going to have their hands full in stopping these hungry Panthers.

Out the gate Jack Delean was set on getting the job done, the boundary throw in up forward was tapped to ground and the pickup by Delean was clean, readjusting and snapping for goal while on the move.

Now with the momentum the Panthers kept attacking and made sure to operate smoothly.

It wasn’t long until the ball was back in the attacking fifty, Kaleel Ross did well to get his major score to go through, reading the play well off a pack, getting loose and finishing with class.

The scoring would slow up periodically for the Panthers as Sturt would manage to reply with two major scores of their own.

However, with time winding down Cohen Shortridge would kick his first at the perfect moment, giving the Panthers a 4-point lead headed into the second quarter.

It was a strong showing in the first but the scoreboard wasn’t reflecting this, in the second term it would remain a close contest

The ball would be cleared and move towards the forward fifty early in the term. After a minor score, Sturt had a blunder from the kick in, kicking straight down Sebastian Oliver’s throat, now with plenty of time the kick from 40-metres out was spot on.

It was back and forth in the second as Sturt would reply quickly, without fail the Panthers were right back at it, fighting hard all day. Taylor Goad did well to kick his first off a 40-metre set shot.

Sturt would come back at them and supply another and as the quarter was closing Jake Agnew would go bang as his set shot from 35-metres out was clean.

A narrow 11-point margin is all that separated these two sides, setting the stage for an interesting second half.

The third quarter was a roller coaster as Sturt would fight back with force kicking four major scores, three of which coming in quick succession.

Taken off guard the Panthers would only manage to kick two goals in the term. Ross’ second was sneaky as he got on the end of a long kick in the goal square, finishing with ease.

After the scoring flurry by Sturt, Ryan Borlace stopped the siege as he picked off a switch kick in the goal square, doing well to get the major score and put the Panthers down by a goal.

The events of the third term were less than ideal, but the boys would fight back in the fourth quarter.

Agnew was sensational in the final term, a pure clutch operator, kicking three goals, a major contributing factor to the Panthers success in this quarter.

It was all coming effortlessly to the Panthers in this quarter and Phoenix Hargrave was leading the charge, finishing his game with a team high 22 disposals and 7 tackles.

With the help of Delean and his second major score, the Under-18's would come out of the contest victorious.

An important win for the Panthers, the Under-18's will look to keep the ball rolling against Central District on Sunday the 23^rd at Flinders University Stadium in a 1:15pm timeslot.

South Adelaide Under-16 V Sturt Under-16
Round 14 - Flinders University Stadium - 15/07/2023

Goals: Carman, Florance, McGarry
Disposals: Wigzell 31, Nye 24, Edwards 22, Woods 20, Florance, Gordan 19
Best: Nye, Wigzell, McDonald, Edwards, Viney

Last week the Under-16's just fell short of North Adelaide, against Sturt in Round 14 the Panthers were going to be challenged.

It was a slow first term for the Panther's as they were taken off guard by the high intensity of Sturt, struggling to move forward and supply any major scores.

Sturt stepped on the gas and built a convincing lead early. The Panther's did get into attacking range but only provided two points.

The first quarter was tough for the Panthers but Jesse Nye was battling, finishing his game with a massive 17 tackles.

In the second term it was once again a battle to win the footy out of the middle, making the standard fluid play hard to come by.

As the quarter progressed the Panthers started to look more like themselves and Jacob McGarry would make the breakthrough from directly in front, finishing his 20-metre set shot.

The first half of football would conclude with the Under-16's down by 29-points, a big second half was required to get over the line.

Struggling to operate out of the stoppages around the ground was a glaring issue for the panthers in this contest and in the third term it continues to cause problems.

Sturt kicked two more major scores in this term, with the Panthers only managing to get one major to go through.

Late in the quarter Cain Florance would work some magic, a deep ball forward would bounce favourably and Florance with one hand would gather with grace, now faced with an open goal the finish was effortless.

A major shift was required if the under-16s were going to get up in the contest, sadly this would fail to happen.

Patrick Carman was able to kick a goal in the final quarter, while being hounded by his defender he managed to get boot to ball and finish with precision.

This was the final major score for the panther as Sturt were too good on the day.

Despite the result, Jake Wigzell had a huge game in the loss as he would garner 31 disposals.

With redemption now on their minds, the Under-16's will look towards Central District on Sunday the 23^rd at Flinders University Stadium in an 11:00am timeslot.