Doc’s Debrief | Round 5

It was a traditional wet-weather day of footy on Saturday, with the Bays falling 22 points short against South Adelaide in a tough loss.

The battle of the big cats saw the Tigers take on the Panthers in a fight for the Carey Darley Cup. By full-time, it was the Panthers’ first win at Stratarama Stadium in six years, with the Bays struggling to keep pace throughout the contest.

“We got what we deserved today, unfortunately,” Doc said in his post-match debrief.

“Early in the game, we probably had a fair bit of the ball and didn’t use it efficiently. South, to their credit, were very efficient, and as the game wore on, I thought they controlled it with their pressure and their contest.”

The Bays led by three points at the first break but couldn’t match South Adelaide’s efficiency or intensity. The Panthers finished with a dominant tackle count of 110 to Glenelg’s 75, while also making the most of their opportunities in front of goal, recording 52% scoring accuracy compared to the Bays’ 37%.

“We were pretty good in terms of the contest and getting our hands on the ball, but when it was our turn to defend and stick those tackles, unfortunately we weren’t quite at the level we should be.”

Despite the result, there were some strong individual performances. Jonty Scharenberg led the way with 26 disposals and three tackles, while Luke Partington collected 22 disposals and laid five tackles.

The Bays now face a six-day turnaround before taking on the top-of-the-ladder Eagles at Maughan Thiem KIA Oval, a challenge they will be preparing for.

“The teams that are successful are able to treat their wins and losses in a measured way, making sure they learn from both. Often the learning is a little sharper when you lose, but the program doesn’t change. We just get to work.”

The Bays will be lead by premiership-collector Scharenberg, who will take the field for his 150th match in the black and gold.