SOUTH Adelaide’s ability to convert opportunities when it counted, and have an even contribution across the board helped the Panthers to knock off West Adelaide and remain the only undefeated team in the 2023 SANFL Women’s season. Battling back from a three quarter time deficit, South Adelaide kicked the final two goals of the match to run out 4.5 (29) to 4.3 (27) winners at Noarlunga.

South Adelaide coach Rick Watts said his side was determined to be the “hunters” this season, and regarded West Adelaide as the benchmark side despite coming off a wooden spoon last year. Though it was tough work to come away with the two-point win, the Panthers premiership coach said it was “what we thought it would live up to”.

“Coming in we’d said that we were the hunters and that’s probably going to be our message for the rest of the year even though we won this,” Watts said. “We still think they’re the team to beat. “We had to curtail Lauren Young, I don’t think we did that very well.

“I don’t know if you can stop her, but I think we had more contributors by the end of that game and they probably should have put us away in that third quarter. We were pretty lucky that they didn’t and (they had) a couple of injuries, but very proud of what the girls did, that was amazing.”

Both sides came away with injuries, though Watts said reigning co-best and fairest winner Gypsy Schirmer‘s appeared to be on the minor side.

“Looks like she just tripped on Lauren’s (Young) laces and rolled her ankle so we’re hoping that’s all it’s going to be, but time will tell,” he said.

South Adelaide picked up the win thanks to fourth quarter goals from Jordann Hickey and Kyanne Campbell, who provided direct goal assists to each other in the term. Campbell was playing her second game for the club after missing last week, while Hickey returned to the Panthers after a season at the Eagles in 2022.

“Jordy Hickey and (Campbell) waxing together as two Pinktail girls is amazing, and Jordy’s first game in,” Watts said. “Kyanne coming back kicking her first goal in the first game, she just adds a different element, her high speed’s amazing. We look a bit slow when she’s not in there, but she’s very dangerous around goals.”

Watts added that Hickey – along with Schirmer’s younger sister Esther Schirmer – were among the impressive contributors in the victory.

“Jordy Hickey’s class in that third especially that fourth quarter (was key),” Watts said. “Esther Schirmer went back to Lauren Young in that second half and I think she did well. We forced her wide, and she was able to stop her at least getting out the front of us and scoring on rebound.

“Her closing speed was sensational and we were going to go with that to start with but we gave Gypsy the opportunity and as fate would have it, her sister got the opportunity. Esther’s a bit more defensively-minded, Gypsy’s really good offensively, it worked in the end. Her closing speed, there was a time when Lauren was out and she turns girls inside out, and she did and she was about to mark and Esther just came through, that was sensational.”

With the Adelaide Cup taking place over the coming weekend, the entire SANFL Women’s competition will have a bye. It allows the Panthers to rest up before a massive Round 4 clash with Central District up at Elizabeth where more AFLW players are tipped to return to state league clubs.

“We’ll push them hard Tuesday, then rest them up Thursday and then get into it again the following week,” Watts said. “We’ve got to travel all the way to Centrals’ Ponderosa so that will be a tough one again after they won one today. We’ll just freshen them up and obviously it’s now our second AFLW block with the Port girls entering next week, so our side will look a little bit different, but it’s pretty hard to make a few changes after that performance.”