A Win is in the Wind

Glenelg v South Adelaide, 14 July, 2018

Indigenous Round brought a Welcome to Country and a very stiff nor-westerly that rendered any smoking ceremony out of the question.  Who conquered the breeze would likely get the points.

The Tigers kicked with the breeze and started like champions, getting on the board within a minute. Three goals to Lachlan Hosie, one to Reynolds and Scott, plus stout defence led by Bradley, Curran and Proud, had us 5 goals to nil at quarter time.  South almost carved out a goal against the gale, but Andrew Bradley replicated Jim Rawson’s 1973 smother and kept the Panthers scoreless for the term.

Given the strength of the breeze, which freshened and fell off in patches during the afternoon, the wiser among us felt that if we were in front by half time, that would be OK. And sure enough, South came back, with goals to Biemans, Brooksby, Helyar and Heaslip, to our no-goals, leaving us only 4 points up.

The Bay fans feared a premiership quarter from the Panthers, who on their day can beat anyone.  But South were a bit off their feed, and their skills let them down on several occasions, as the Tigers got three in a hurry (they’re learning to start playing at the start of each quarter, at last) via McCarthy, Motlop and Uebergang –  and just as we were thinking we needed one more to hold off the visitors in the ever-freshening blast of wind, Darcy Bailey got a great goal from deep in the pocket.  A 29 point lead looked good and we thought it would be enough.

And things looked even better in the last quarter when the Bays hadn’t conceded a goal by the 10 minute mark.  Still, we feared one goal by South would open the floodgate and so it proved. Perennial star and complete pest Joel Cross, in his 150th game, got a good checkside goal, and then South chalked-up majors from Nick Liddle, Alex Aurrichio (2) and Nathan Kreuger.  By the bell, South had kicked 5.3 (33 points), enough to overhaul our three-quarter time lead.

Unlucky for the Panthers, though, at the half-way mark, Josh Scott (who always battles on manfully) took a tremendous mark and barreled his kick into the teeth of the wind, to score the only goal of the game at the northern end.  Glenelg therefore won by 3 points.

As wise man say to grasshopper: ‘Who conquer the breeze will get the points.’

Glenelg 10.6 (66) South 9.9 (63)