North Adelaide’s control of possession, combined with their dominance through the centre and in the air, proved too much for South Adelaide to handle in a 22-point defeat at Magain Stadium.

A nervous eight minutes for the Panthers mostly cramped up in their defensive half eventually saw the Roosters’ Mitch Harvey boot the first after an errant kick caused the turnover.

Intercepting from half back, Isaac Birt quickly spotted Emmanuel Ajang, and his kick inside 50 gave time for Corey Grocock to collect over the back. A handball over to Jack Delean finished the well-constructed play for the opening South Adelaide goal.

The teams traded goals again, Ben Shillabeer able to bend his set shot around the post after being set up by Arlo Draper on another turnover.

Disposal efficiency was down for both teams, often leading the chances that were created in the first quarter.

Charlie Duncan gathered the loose ball before Delean once again popped up at the fall of the ball, diving in hard and flicking a handball out to Ajang, who put through the goal.

Early signs of composure from North Adelaide emerged in the second quarter as the Roosters began to settle into the contest. This was aided by South Adelaide’s apparent breakdown in offensive structure ahead of the ball, allowing North to effectively shut down the Panthers’ on the counter.

Against the flow of play, Delean slotted his second goal of the first half, working the drop punt from a tough angle after earning a free kick following an infringement by North Adelaide’s Alex Spina.

Skill execution was still down for the Panthers, while the Roosters looked to carry the ball through the middle on transition. 

The third quarter was essentially where the game was won with the scoring picking up, as South Adelaide couldn’t run with with the high possession style of North Adelaide.

Shillabeer doubled up to draw things level, but a run of four Roosters goals broke the game apart, as their midfield got to work.

Delean gave the Panthers a spark with two quick goals in succession, both resulting from free kicks. His fourth major was met with plenty of emotion as he sought to lift the side.

But it was short lived, with North Adelaide surging out of the centre after the restart to respond immediately and deflate any Panthers momentum.

Trailing by 18 points, Oliver Davis added his name to the goalkickers within the opening 30 seconds of the final term, but North Adelaide responded with the next two. A fourth goal to Shillabeer briefly kept the Panthers in touch, though the Roosters again replied with two of their own.

As was the story of the second half, North Adelaide had all the answers, comfortably winning the disposal count 366-278 and the mark count 107-58.

Consolation goals to Tom Gillett and Phoenix Hargrave came late for the Panthers.

Livewire forwards Delean and Shillabeer were sharpshooters, each kicking four goals. 

Possessions were spread evenly, but with no real standouts. Davis and Angus Bradley collected 20 apiece, while Draper and recent State Squad inclusion Finn Emile-Brennan each gathered 19.

In spite of the loss, South Adelaide has held on to their spot in the top five on percentage.

The Panthers now head into the league-wide bye for the State Game, with Davis, Emile-Brennan and Delean all selected in the squad set to travel to Perth to take on the WAFL.

South Adelaide will return to League action against West Adelaide at Richmond Oval on Saturday, 23rd May at 2:10pm.

South Adelaide have maintained their position at the top of the SANFL Reserves ladder, winning at Magain Stadium over North Adelaide by 16 points.

Tye Gander was unstoppable, booting the first three of the day with strong presence leading up to the footy. He ended the game with four goals total, making a statement to the onlooking League selectors.

His second goal, coming in open play from a tight angle, was set up wonderfully by Tom Barrett, who collected the ball with one hand at pace to evade his opponent. 

Cleanliness at ground level across the board from the Panthers allowed them to build a solid lead early on.

The game stagnated in the second quarter before a pinpoint kick from tall Ryan Borlace found Sam Foley, who made no mistake from his set shot.

Goals to Xavier Gleeson, Ben Ashley-Cooper and Oliver Goss opened the margin out to 27, with the only scoring for the Roosters coming from Kalan Caputo, who had kicked their only four goals to that point.

Early in the third term, Callum Bennett provided a highlight as he intercepted the ball at the top of the fifty, running well out wide of the player on the mark to nail the set shot.

Caputo would remarkably kick his fifth and sixth goal either side of the last change to give North Adelaide a chance at stealing the game, being as many as 34 points down.

With the contest heating up, Ethan Johnson imposed himself physically and laid into his opponents with a series of hard bumps and tackles.

Needing a settler, Barrett provided just that with a quick kick after roving a shallow inside 50 ball up.

Caputo kicked his seventh, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Roosters as Jesse Nye combined with Gleeson to set up his second and the last goal for the game.

Foley was by far and away the best Panther with 25 disposals, 14 tackles and nine clearances having been omitted from the League side that defeated Glenelg last week.

Nye collected 20 disposals to go with ten inside 50s and six tackles, while Borlace dominated the hitout count with 37.

Following a bye for the State Game, South Adelaide will take on West Adelaide away at Richmond Oval on Saturday, 23^rd May at 11:30am.