South Adelaide finished the 2026 SANFL League season on a high, defeating finals bound West Adelaide and giving cult hero Eamon Wilkinson a memorable outing in his last game.

Wilkinson announced his retirement during the week after having played 115 Hostplus SANFL League games and kicking 126 goals since making his League debut in Round 16, 2019.

Meanwhile, Arlo Draper (foot) and captain Oscar Clavarino (hamstring) were sidelined due to injury.

An even first quarter began with neat movement coming out of half-back from the Panthers without finding the last kick in the chain.

Tye Gander had an opportunity early, but his snap would go across the face of goal. 

The forward later made amends, capitalising after South Adelaide forced a turnover and went back inside 50, with Jack Delean composedly finding him in open space.

Bailey Pilmore held up and caught his opponent holding the ball, sending his set shot through from the top of the arc.

West Adelaide had the run of play after the Pilmore goal, but another turnover late handed possession back to the Panthers, with Wilkinson making them pay on the siren.

Out of the break, South Adelaide took over the game by kicking five of the term’s six goals.

After a scrappy start to the quarter, the teams traded the lead, with Angus Bradley converting.

The Panthers then found another gear entering time-on, kickstarted by back-to-back goals from Delean.

Centre clearance dominance led to multiple entries, causing a level of panic from the Bloods defenders.

Ryan Borlace copped a push in the back, helping the side kick clear.

Not long after, Borlace produced a moment of brilliance, climbing high to take a towering mark before slotting a second goal in as many minutes.

South Adelaide emerged from half-time with a perfect eight straight goals, their late onslaught opening up the advantage.

Delean put the first blemish on the scoreboard, which seemingly caught on throughout the quarter.

Controlling territory, the Panthers were happy to slow the game down and work the ball inside as West Adelaide struggled to make the best use of their disposal.

More behinds were added before Delean broke through out the back, booting his third goal and the only major for the term after twenty minutes.

Gander would put the Panthers out to a game-high 37-point lead after locking the ball in deep forward to start the final quarter.

A wayward period in front of goal left the Bloods with too much ground to make up in their comeback bid.

West Adelaide did manage to kick the next three, but the margin proved too great to overcome as time wound down.

Despite a series of knock-ons and quick kicks, the Panthers managed to keep the ball moving forward late.

Fittingly, it would lead to Wilkinson with ball in hand, dribbling through the sealer in his final game as his teammates gathered around him in celebration.

The siren soon sounded on his career and South Adelaide’s season, with the Panthers running out 21-point winners.

Arie Schoenmaker saved his best for last, producing one of his strongest performances of his first year in blue and white with 28 disposals, 13 marks and eight rebound 50s from defence.

Emmanuel Ajang also produced a season-high of 28 disposals, seven marks and four clearances.

Leading the side with the skipper Clavarino absent, Ollie Davis had 31 disposals, eight marks and six clearances.

Delean kicked three, finishing as the runner-up in the Ken Farmer Medal with a total of 46 goals. 

Wilkinson rode off into the sunset in style, kicking two goals before being proudly chaired off the ground.

The South Adelaide Football Club would like to thank all of its loyal members and fans for their unwavering support throughout the 2026 season.

South Adelaide were pushed all the way by West Adelaide in a tight contest in Round 19, securing a nine-point win at Richmond Oval ahead of the SANFL Reserves League finals.

It took ten minutes, but the game began to open up midway through the first term, as Cohen Shortridge started promisingly to run off the mark and convert from range.

He then followed up with a wonderful checkside right up against the pocket for a second.

Shortridge’s influence continued as he used his body to work his opponent off the ball, creating enough space to pick out Ethan Johnson running into an open goal square.

The two teams then kicked short bursts of goals, with neither side able to establish control over the other.

After the Bloods kicked three in a row, Johnson answered for the Panthers by reading the loose ball following a collision between two West Adelaide defenders.

Michael Smith was then driven into the turf, just about making his set shot work back around the post.

Jake Gasper put through the Panthers’ final major of the half, but South Adelaide would trail by a single straight kick at the main change.

The back-and-forth nature of the game carried into the second half, however this time the Bloods were unable to string together consecutive goals.

South Adelaide regained the lead early in the third quarter through Shortridge, then Thomas Simpson later joined the attack to add another.

Ruckman Cody Lowe looked to have put the Panthers a kick clear heading into the final quarter after Callum Bennett intercepted a complacent kick from the Bloods.

West Adelaide responded immediately, finding a goal from the resulting centre clearance to leave the scores level at three-quarter time.

The experienced pairing of Luke Bogle and Ben Shillabeer provided the Panthers with the ideal start they needed.

The margin never stretched beyond 15 points for the afternoon, but Shortridge’s fourth goal gave the side enough of a buffer to close out the win.

Bogle was the driving force with 26 disposals, nine marks, five inside 50s and a fourth quarter goal.

Lowe worked tirelessly across the ground for 25 disposals, ten clearances and 19 hitouts, also with a goal in the last.

Shortridge maintained his recent scoring form, as he registered his third four-goal game in the past month.

Results elsewhere saw South Adelaide finish the home and away season in third place, setting up an away final against Norwood next week. 

The Panthers will play at Coopers Stadium on Saturday morning kicking off at 10:20am.