SOUTH Australia’s country football team returned from the west after a close defeat at the hands of Western Australia, but were certainly not disgraced.
The side lost by just nine points after a slow start to the state country hit out put them on the back foot at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
However, Penola’s Scott Merrett was named best-on-ground for the SA side after a solid effort around the ground, with one goal to cap off his day.
Jayden Eldridge represented East Gambier and the Limestone Coast well, with a solid effort in a fast-paced contest.
To round out the Murray South East zone representatives was Sam Pfeiffer, who also had a big effect on the contest.
Coached by Adam Merrett, the side headed to Perth to play in front of a big crowd as the curtain-raiser for the AFL fixture between West Coast and North Melbourne.
The pressure was on from the outset, with the home side kicking out to a handy 12-point lead at the first break.
WA then banged on another five major scores in the second term, while limiting SA to just two, with a 27-point advantage at the long break.
From there the South Australians began to find their feet, with four goals in the third term, while keeping WA to just one major score to trail by only eight points.
That set up a desperate final quarter, where both sides managed three goals, with the South Australians unsuccessful in their bid to claim back-to-back state titles.
Adam Merrett said the WA side jumped them early with some fast passages of play through the middle of the ground, taking the game on rather than spreading wide.
“They were happy to handball through the pack or run forward rather than switch,” he said.
“That gave them a fair bit of momentum even right up until half time.”
Merrett said he made some changes at the long break in an attempt to arrest the momentum, which paid off as the SA boys worked their way back into the contest.
“We kicked four goals in the first 14 minutes of the third quarter and got back to within two points,” he said.
“But they kicked a goal late on the siren off a 50-metre penalty, which would have been a 50/50 if he was going to slot it from where he was.
“But we had the momentum and really dug deep to try to get back into the game.”
Merrett said much of that came from Scott Merrett and Leigh Ryswyck, who he said were a toss up for best-on-ground honours.
He said Todd Miles went into the ruck and those three steadied the ship.
However, Merrett said early in the final stanza his players did not take advantage of their possession up forward.
“The last quarter was a fair arm wrestle,” he said.
“The first eight or nine minutes we had the ball down there but could not capitalise.
“We needed to get that goal to try to get a bit of a run on, but they went down and kicked a couple.
“We kicked the last three of the game to finish it off, but it was not to be.”
Despite the loss Merrett said his players could hold their heads high after a close contest.
He said the WA side included about 18 players with WAFL experience, while the SA team included 18 new names to state duties.
“They picked a team to really try to beat us,” he said.
“They were pretty keen to give us a red-hot crack on the Optus Oval.
“We probably did not adjust to the pace early on, then they got the upper hand and put the scoreboard pressure on.
“But to the guys credit, the way they played their footy, we made a fair game of it.”
Merrett said it was an impressive game from Scott Merrett, who he felt was a worthy winner of the medal.
“He played a really good four-quarter game,” he said.
“He went in hard, tackled well, put pressure on and found the footy.
“He played rover and swapped off the ground in the first quarter, but then I swapped him up at half forward to keep him around the footy.
“He is coming into his own with his composure and the time he has with the football.
“I have obviously seen him play a fair bit of footy, so it was good to see him lift to the next level.”
Overall Merrett said it was an honour to coach the side on such a big day, with the crowd beginning to pour in after half time to add to the experience.
“You really noticed crowd coming into three-quarter time,” he said.
“The last quarter you could hear them roaring and shouting in the goals, which was another thing for the guys to experience.
“Playing in a massive stadium like that was good and it was a great effort from the boys.”
