Round 22 - sanfl

THE
KNOWING HOW TO WIN
PHANTOM
the ghost that talks
It was interesting watching the
Port v Essendon AFL match on
Sunday evening and listening to a
number of comments from the Fox
commentary team.
They were talking about the
fact that Port looked like a team
that didn’t know how to win and
even when they escaped to a fivegoal
lead they still didn’t look
sure of themselves. From that
point, Essendon completely rolled
the Power as the boys from
Alberton capitulated.
As I was sitting in the comfort of
The Cave watching the match I
couldn’t help but think about the
weekend and the SANFL Finals
aspirants. Like the Power, they all
fell over when the perfect
opportunity arose to stake their
claims for fifth position.
The four teams in competition for
the last Finals position all lost –
meaning South remain in fifth
position and now need to win just
one more match to all-but lock in a
Finals position.
The Panthers, who went down
to the Eagles at Hickinbotham Oval,
“West, who are just half a game behind
the Panthers, were coming off a strong
win over South and playing a Glenelg
team who had been cleaned up the
week before by more than 100 points.”
were in front at three quarter time
but were held goalless in the last. If
they had of held on in the last they
most likely would be Finals bound.
West, who are just half a game
behind the Panthers, were coming
off a strong win over South and
playing a Glenelg team who had
been cleaned up the week before
by more than 100 points. Like
South, West led in the last quarter
but weren’t able to take the
opportunities. If they had have
delivered in the last you could have
pencilled them in for a Finals berth.
North, who are one and half
games behind the Panthers, played
bottom-placed Sturt and with a
match this weekend against South
at Prospect had the opportunity to
be in the five come Round 23.
North served up one of the most
disappointing first halves of the
year and despite a Josh Francou
rocket at half time and a response
from his side, it was too little too
late. If North had won it would have
been placed nicely to try and
sneak into the five.
For Port it was a slightly different
story. They faced the reigning
premier at Alberton in a match in
which few expected them to
triumph. You make your own
chances and control your own
destiny and Port were in front by
11 points in the second quarter.
From there the Dogs delivered a
polished and classy performance.
There are always ifs and buts in
sport and for three of these four
teams they will look back on the
season as they are enjoying a