SANFLW League Coaches Report

Match Report – Round 3 SANFLW: West Adelaide FC vs South Adelaide FC

West Adelaide 2.4.16
South Adelaide 4.6.30

In round three, we faced South Adelaide at home. South had come off a surprising loss to North Adelaide, so we knew it was going to be a tough contest. We won the toss and kicked with a strong three-goal breeze toward the northern end. Unfortunately, we didn’t make the most of this advantage early on. Credit to South, though, as they forced us to play on the defensive side of the oval, making it difficult to score.

Our first goal came from a great transition play led by Emily Mableson, who won the ball off the halfback flank and moved it through the midfield. Nicole Hooper finished the play with a strong 40-meter goal. It was her first game back for the 2025 season, and she made an immediate impact. Not long after, we scored our second goal from a turnover, with Ruby Ballard delivering a pass to Chelsea Newitt, who kicked her first goal for SANFLW in just her third game, 30 meters out. We went into the break 13 points up, but we felt we hadn’t fully capitalized on the conditions.

South came out strong in the second quarter, kicking a goal in the first minute. While our defense held firm for a while, South managed to score two more goals, giving them a seven-point lead at halftime. During the break, we discussed being more attacking and using the wind to our advantage. Unfortunately, once again, we couldn’t make the most of the conditions and failed to score in the third quarter. South’s midfield was dominant, and we couldn’t get the clearances we had in previous games. We entered the three-quarter-time break six points down.

At the start of the final quarter, the team was determined to finish strong and secure a win. For the first 10 minutes, we controlled the play, locking the ball in our forward line. However, we couldn’t convert our pressure into goals. A quick transition from South led to the only goal of the quarter. Despite a strong effort to finish the game, we fell short and lost by 14 points.

There were several standout performances despite the loss. Emily Mableson was awarded best player for her work as a midfielder/defender. Other notable performances came from Pip Worthly, who did an excellent job keeping South’s leading goal kicker goalless with only six possessions. Ella Maxwell, Lucy Waye, Niamh Davis, and Zoe Venning also played well.

Next up, we take on Sturt at Unley on Sunday, looking to get back to winning ways.

Goals
Nicole Hooper and Chelsea Newitt 1.1

Bruce Dawes
SANFLW Head Coach