Reigning premiers South Adelaide take on Tango. 

From the first whistle, South Adelaide’s intent became apparent, speed onto the ball, direct precision passing, accurate high passes to the tall Matt Fowler in the goal circle, and full court tight defence. It is worthy to note that Fowler was using both hands to receive the high pass to greater effect, clearly a most positive direction from coach Scott Fort.

The defensive efforts of Daniel Moore at goal keeper limited Tango's scoring opportunities and this was set up by excellent defence outside the goal circle by Travis Wood at wing defence and Reece Turtur at centre. Turtur appeared to have no restrictions given he rolled his ankle last week, as always the pacey, creative, attacking playmaker. 

Luke Humphris, Tango’s goal keeper, began to challenge the pass to Fowler, but the ever reliable ‘mini master’ Ryan Norfolk at goal attack upped the ante and drew the focus off of Fowler. Turtur and Mark Goreham’s movement to and around the goal circle had the Tango defender's heads spinning and opened up the circle for direct feeds to Fowler. 

Sam Chamberlain for Tango kept their scores rolling but tight front marking by Daniel Moore and excellent reading of the ball coming in, saw him pull off great interceptions thus limiting Tango’s scoring opportunities. South’s full court defence efforts continued to pay dividends aided by slick passages of transition from defence into attack. 

The first quarter scores were South Adelaide 23, Tango 8.

 

South Adelaide's outstanding defensive performance continued into the second quarter, and the passing feeds from Turtur to Fowler were superb. Tango rallied as goal attack Jack Townsend began to find more space and shooting range aided by Cameron Bennett at wing attack setting him up for the high pass. However, South Adelaide's defensive circle combo of Moore and Kyle Glazbrook adjusted accordingly and squeezed circle space, limiting options for the circle feeders. This was superbly aided by the outside pressure applied by Turtur and Wood. 

Reid O’Callaghan came on to give Turtur’s ankle a rest and he soon found his groove, driving hard into attack, using the give and go to effect and feeding both goalies with aplomb! 

South’s full court, relentless defence saw them limit Tango to 8 goals whilst scoring 22 in the second.

Half time scores were South Adelaide 45, Tango 18.

 

South Adelaide rang a few changes with Jesse Robinson on to wing defence, Wood to goal defence and a rest for Glazbrook. These changes did little to stop South Adelaide's creative scoring flow and all court defence that was stifling Tango’s attack and scoring opportunities. 

Mark Goreham rolled an ankle that looked quite bad which saw him leave the court. Another positional shuffle for South Adelaide, but it didn’t affect their performance. Fast direct leads and passes between Turtur, O’Callaghan and Norfolk had Tango’s defenders heads spinning.

As the quarter drew to a close circle defenders adjusted to the whistle and South Adelaide again piled on the goals. The third quarter saw South Adelaide score 22 to Tango 10. 

Three quarter time scores were South Adelaide 67, Tango 38.

 

The final quarter saw little change as South Adelaide's precision attack and defensive efforts continued to wear Tango down. However, it must be noted that Tango showed positive signs when their attack gelled and clearly have the potential to improve and challenge the more experienced teams.

Reid O’Callaghan showed exactly why he is a young player with a great future and Daniel Moore’s game at keeper was consistently outstanding.

A consistent, full team effort saw South Adelaide score 23 goals to Tango’s 10 in the final quarter. 

Final scores were South Adelaide 90 to Tango 38.

 

Player of the Match was 30-year-old goal keeper for South Adelaide, Daniel Moore. 

Dan a mechanic, began his netball journey by joining his girlfriend in a mixed competition, which is a very common starting point for many male netballers. From there, he joined the Werewolves in SAMMNA’s M League in 2023 and then South Adelaide under the astute and tactically savvy Jackie Blythe who Dan acknowledges as a major contributor to his netball growth. He praises the way that Scott Fort has slipped into the coaching role and the way he offers much value to the team. Dan was a key factor in South Adelaide's premiership, particularly his effective combination with fellow defender Geoff Zammit. A member of the 2024 Southern Dragon's Men’s Reserve team that competed in the National titles in Brisbane, financial restraints have limited his opportunities for further representation in 2025. Congratulations Dan on an outstanding game tonight.