South Adelaide have climbed to the top of the ladder after defeating third-placed North Adelaide by six points in a low-scoring arm wrestle at Prospect Oval.

The Roosters had a golden opportunity to go inside 50 from the opening bounce, courtesy of a centre-square free kick. However, Tiffany King held her nerve to diffuse the danger.

After absorbing early pressure, the Panthers quickly transitioned into attack, using fast ball movement to slice through North Adelaide’s defensive setup.

The first major chance came when Emily Brockhurst burst away and handballed to Jess Waterhouse inside 50, but their quick snap was collected just metres from goal.

Despite not converting early dominance into scoreboard pressure, South’s intent was evident from the first siren. Doreena Hansen laid a smother on an exit kick, keeping the ball deep in attack.

Soriah Moon once again imposed herself in the ruck, consistently giving her midfielders first use with dominant hitouts.

With some familiar names missing from the engine room, others were given their chance to shine — none more so than Lauren Clifton, who started strongly in her 50th Hostplus SANFLW game.

Both sides launched promising forward forays, but resolute defending and execution errors inside 50 made scoring tough.

Mel Anderson’s intercept in the forward half created a dangerous opportunity, with her booming kick finding Brockhurst on a slight angle close to goal.

After nine minutes without a score, Brockhurst broke the deadlock with a composed set shot, handing South Adelaide a six-point lead.

North Adelaide looked to respond before quarter-time, producing several quality entries that resulted in two behinds.

The Panthers were forced into desperate defence late in the term, but Jaslynne Smith and Esther Schirmer stayed composed under pressure, using their foot skills to rebound effectively.

At the first break, South Adelaide held a narrow four-point lead.

The second term began with a fierce battle around the contest. Anderson thrived in the congestion, leading the way in both tackles and clearances, supported by aptly by Shakaila Gardiner-Dunn.

With scoring opportunities rare, both teams knew conversion was key. A defensive lapse by North Adelaide allowed Clifton to mark 35 metres out on a slight angle, but her set shot missed narrowly.

The Panthers looked to atone immediately, with Tabitha Prosser intercepting at half-forward and launching a tumbling kick inside 50.

Lucy Northcott applied excellent forward pressure to force an out-on-the-full 40 metres out near the boundary.

With the distance a concern, Northcott played on, shrugged her opponent and unleashed a long-range shot, which just missed for a behind.

South dominated territory, pinning the Roosters in their defensive half. Despite repeated inside 50s, North Adelaide refused to concede a mark in dangerous territory.

As the quarter wound down, Moon delivered a superb tap to advantage, with Schirmer looking to find Northcott in the goal square — only for a Roosters free kick to save the day.

At half-time, South Adelaide led by six points after a goalless but fiercely contested term.

With the match delicately poised, both teams entered the second half desperate to gain momentum.

A dangerous early entry saw North Adelaide forwards fly at the ball, but Moon’s effort to get back and break up the marking contest proved vital.

Brockhurst, the game's only goal scorer, worked tirelessly, even drifting back to help relieve defensive pressure.

South were stuck in their defensive half and struggled to move the ball forward, but Clifton’s clean gather and long kick found Waterhouse and opened up the ground.

Waterhouse wasted no time and delivered into space for Seraphina Moon to chase.

Although Moon was third in the race, a fumble from a North defender opened the door — only for a desperate tackle to foil the scoring chance.

Still, South managed to lock the ball inside 50, forcing North to defend grimly.

After a series of stoppages, Shae Archbold emerged and snapped from distance, but her shot trickled through for a behind — the only score of a tense quarter.

At the final break, South Adelaide led by seven points.

The final term began with both sides throwing themselves at the contest, space at a premium.

North Adelaide appeared the more likely early, and when Julia Clark was awarded a free kick inside 50 on a tight angle, tension filled the air.

Clark’s set shot was accurate but fell short, with Moon rushing it through for a minor score — North’s first in 42 minutes of play.

Despite the drought, the Roosters were moving the ball well — but their poor kicking out of defence proved costly.

Clifton won a free kick at half back and found Northcott, who looked to have marked on the second grab. Called to play on, she burst clear and snapped a brilliant goal, extending the lead to 12 points.

With time slipping away, North Adelaide needed something special. A goal in the 16th minute gave them a glimmer of hope.

However, the comeback was made much harder when South won the following centre clearance and drove the ball inside 50.

North Adelaide needed to move quickly, but Prosser’s intercept at half-back halted the momentum, and a series of stoppages inside South’s defensive 50 wound down the clock.

When the final siren sounded, the Panthers had held firm in a gripping battle, prevailing by six points over a gallant North Adelaide.

South Adelaide will now look to extend their winning streak to 11 when they face Woodville-West Torrens in a potential grand final preview at Magain Stadium on Saturday, 5 July at 9:40am.