Belligerents
PORT ADELAIDEMinor round: Finished 1st; 12 wins, 6 losses
Last week: Lost to Norwood by 13 points.
SOUTH ADELAIDE
Minor round: Finished 4th; 11 wins, 7 losses
Last week: Defeated Sturt by 68 points.
HEAD TO HEAD
Port Adelaide 247 v 99 South Adelaide [13 drawn]
LAST FIVE
Port Adelaide 4 v 1 South Adelaide
THIS YEAR
Port Adelaide 1 v 1 South Adelaide [Differential +43 to Port]
PLAYBILL
SANFL IGA League – Preliminary FinalPort Adelaide v South Adelaide
Adelaide Oval, War Memorial Drive, North Adelaide
Sunday 14 September
First bounce: 2:40pm
Hashtags: #portsouth #sanfl
Broadcast: 7mate [Channel 73], Life FM, RPH
Tickets: $15 general admission, $10 concession, $4 juniors aged 5-17, $30 family [2 adults and 2 children]
TIME MACHINE
Round 15, 2014: An undermanned Port Adelaide was blown away by South at Noarlunga in the first loss of a difficult end to the 2014 minor round.
PORT ADELAIDE 1.2 3.2 5.4 8.6 (54)
SOUTH ADELAIDE 4.3 7.3 10.8 10.11 (71)
portadelaidefc.com.au's best: Neade, S. Gray, Logan, Stevenson, Summerton, Sawford
Goals: Neade 3, Ah Chee, R. Young, Krakouer, Gordon, Shaw
at Noarlunga Oval
FOUR POINTS
You can't win a game with just one quarterIt was a blitz in the third quarter last Saturday night, but unfortunately the Magpies only managed to turn the screws on Norwood for half an hour under lights. While Port almost stole the game from the Redlegs, they never dominated the contest and certainly didn't deserve to win after being outplayed in the first, second and fourth terms. If the Magpies fail to fire all game on Sunday, the quest for the grand final will be very tough.
Historical interest
South is playing for history this weekend, and pride. The Panthers last won a flag in 1964 - that was against Port Adelaide - last played in a grand final in 1979 (against Port, again), last played in a prelim in 1991 (losing to West by 21 points) and last won a prelim against Central in '79. It has never won three consecutive finals in League football, so for the navy blue and white, there is plenty of history that can tumble on Sunday afternoon. Port Adelaide will look to keep some of that history intact and snap its own finals losing streak that dates back to 2005.
Better for the run
Port Adelaide will be better for the run last weekend, despite the loss. Given the Baby Magpies are laced with young players - many of whom have little (if any) finals experience - to see what Norwood is capable of producing on the Adelaide Oval is a massive benefit for the black-and-white. Steven Summerton is the only player with SANFL finals experience in a Port Adelaide side, Lewis Stevenson won a flag with Norwood last year, and Tom Logan (three) and Henry Slattery (one) have played in AFL finals. They'll need to use their experience to marshal their younger teammates on Sunday.
Only game in town
Well, not quite, but if you're a Port Adelaide supporter it will be. With the Power playing Fremantle in an AFL semi final on Saturday, True Believers will be able to cheer the black-and-white on what is poised to be a perfectly-weathered Sunday at the Adelaide Oval. After a big turnout last Saturday night, the club will be hoping to have an even bigger contingent to this standalone game.
