South Adelaide marked Jarrad Wright’s final game as senior coach in emphatic fashion, powering to a 62-point win over traditional rivals Port Adelaide at Alberton Oval.

Wright surpassed Haydn Bunton Jnr as the Club’s longest-serving coach earlier this year and was recognised as a SANFL Player and Coach Life Member, ending his tenure after 157 games in charge since 2018.

The milestone match also featured a debut, with Elliott Duffield (#1864) playing his first League game after a consistent season in defence for the Reserves.

A frantic move forward saw Finn Emile-Brennan fly past to kick the first with a tidy snap inside ninety seconds.

Tall forwards Tye Gander and Tom Gillett also hit the scoreboard, with Gillett shouldering most of the ruck duties in absence of Oli Northam.

Port hit back with their first goal, but Jack Delean took over the game with three consecutive goals as the Panthers took hold.

Emmanuel Ajang capped off a comprehensive first quarter effort, walking in South Adelaide’s seventh goal.

The Panthers used their run to burn off the Magpies in transition, often getting to the important ground balls first and hitting targets inside 50.

Losing the hitout and clearance numbers, South Adelaide were generating the majority of their scores rebounding out of defence, with Harley Sparks leading the way.

The second quarter became a wrestle with both teams trading goals, but Delean still added his fourth and fifth in a dominant first half, where no other player kicked more than one.

A back-and-forth third quarter saw Delean reach seven goals, with those seven remarkably accounting for South Adelaide’s last eight of the match.

Riley Baldi pushed the margin back out to 43 points, with it only continuing to grow from there.

The forwards stayed on the front foot to help close out the game, creating early chances in the last.

Delean punished the Magpies defence yet again as they afforded him a pocket of space to kick his eighth goal to start the fourth quarter.

Arlo Draper shortly followed up after reading the spill of the ball to finish with class.

Emile-Brennan and Gander both added a second goal, with South Adelaide running out their biggest win of the season.

As the final siren sounded, the group formed a guard of honour as Jarrad Wright left the field for the last time as coach.

Many played their part, but Delean’s day out stole the show, as his bag of eight moved him to second on the SANFL leading goalkickers list, along with 22 disposals and ten marks.

Oliver Davis recorded 34 disposals and eight tackles, while Angus Bradley had 31 disposals and six inside 50s, both putting in a shift on the inside and outside of the contest.

Sparks finished with 32 disposals and 11 marks, his nine rebound 50s frequently launching scoring chains.

Baldi and Draper were solid contributors with 24 disposals and a goal each.

Emile-Brennan went under the radar to pick up 28 disposals, ten marks and two goals, while the debutant Duffield held up with 16 disposals and eight marks.

Gander also kicked two as the other multiple goalkicker, with his mobility on display.

The win keeps the Panthers’ season alive, sitting a game outside the top five with six rounds to go.

A time of change for South Adelaide progresses as the side travels to the Barossa to face Central District on Saturday, 11^th July at 4:10pm.

South Adelaide returned to the winners list in the SANFL Reserves League, snapping a two-game losing streak with a tight three-point victory over Central District at X Convenience Oval.

Trailing by as many as 26 points at the main break, the Panthers produced a stirring second-half comeback, with returning midfielder Phoenix Hargrave playing an inspired part in the turnaround.

Although the Bulldogs had managed only two wins before the match, they defied expectations with a fast start, kicking four of the opening five goals.

A high ball from Callum Bennett fell the way of Ben Ashley-Cooper for the Panthers’ only goal of the first quarter.

Goals to Cohen Shortridge and Corey Grocock briefly reduced the margin, but the Bulldogs quickly responded with a run of four goals before the half had wrapped up.

With a third straight loss looming, the Panthers steadied, keeping the home side to three goals after half-time while peppering the goals themselves with 16 scoring shots.

Bennett and Ashley-Cooper continued their impact forward with goals, while Blake Rodrigues followed up with a running snap, again with Bennett involved in the build-up.

Toiling away in the midfield alongside Sam Foley, Hargrave pushed forward to take a couple of marks and bring the deficit back to single digits heading into the last change.

Then entered Shortridge, who kicked his second and third goals in quick succession to put the side back in front for the first time since the first quarter.

The Panthers had chances to extend the lead but couldn’t capitalise, but Shortridge’s two fourth-quarter goals held up as Centrals finished strongly with the final two majors.

Hargrave was influential with 26 disposals, eight marks and six clearances, adding two goals to complete a well-rounded performance.

Foley was equally impressive with 28 disposals, five marks and nine clearances.

Jesse Nye took a game-high 13 marks to go with 22 disposals, while Hugo Hoeck in the back half similarly controlled the airwaves with 10 marks of his own.

The forwards were led by Shortridge who kicked three and Ashley-Cooper who kicked two, also laying six tackles.

Back on top of the ladder, South Adelaide will get a second crack at Central District in Round 14, with the sides meeting again in a fixture quirk at the Ponderosa on Saturday, 11^th July at 11:00am.