Adelaide has suffered their biggest loss of the SANFL season, succumbing to South Adelaide by 112 points at Hickinbotham Oval.
An undermanned Crows squad started the game with 11 development members and played majority of the second half with no one on the bench as they went down 4.4 (28) to 22.8 (140).
Ruckman Reilly O’Brien was a late withdrawal due to a shoulder injury, as was midfielder Cam Ellis-Yolmen, who was managed.
The decision was based on workload, with Ellis-Yolmen playing a lot of minutes at senior level coming off a knee reconstruction.
Development squad members Damon Hill and Joseph Brown missed the entire second half with hamstring injuries, while defender Alex Keath limped off in the third term with an ankle injury.
Midfielder Curtly Hampton was Adelaide’s best player with 23 disposals, 11 contested, 13 tackles and eight clearances.
Rookie Lachlan Murphy worked hard with 16 touches, 14 contested, 10 tackles and seven clearances.
State League coach Ryan O’Keefe said considering the circumstances, the team couldn’t do much more.
“It was never easy but that is what we are here for, a challenge. We were undermanned fairly significantly and the 10 AFL players we had are all young, developing players anyway,” he said.
“We had no one on the bench by halftime, so we had no rotations and we had to try manage and manufacture guys.
“The effort was there though, that was something I was proud of, that they never gave up. Things weren’t going right, a whole range of things, but they never gave up and that’s all you can ask.”
More information about O’Brien and Keath’s injuries will be provided later in the week once they have been fully assessed.
The SANFL team has a bye next week and will return to action against Sturt on Sunday July 1.
ADELAIDE 1.2 1.3 2.4 4.4 (28)
PANTHERS 6.3 10.5 14.8 22.8 (140)
GOALS:
Adelaide: Costanzo, Vandermeer, McPherson, Jarman
Panthers: Liddle 4, Cross 3, Brooksby 2, Szust 2, Davis 2, Rankine 2, Brown, Elmes, Fields, Haren, Noble, Helyar, Heaslip
BESTS: Hampton, Murphy, Himmelberg, Signorello, Leigh
