Australian Football

Round 11

Premiership season 2011 - Round 11 Review

Total Crowd 15,902 (Avg 3,976)

The future of the league itself has been brought into question this week. There has been a considerable lift in the belief that the powers that be at the AFL see the SANFL as their next conquest for re-branding under their own image along with the commissioning of reserves teams from our two South Australian AFL teams. Many people in SANFL circles and SA media believe this would undermine the integrity of the competition, which was put to the test over 20 years ago with the nationalisation of Victorian football which became the AFL and the formation of the Adelaide Football Club. While overall interest in state league football declined heavily as a result, the SANFL would ultimately survive. Is another test coming our way? Only time will tell.

Welcome to the Round 11 edition of the SANFL Wrap-Up

First off in the wrap, we head north for the only Saturday afternoon contest, to the Playford Alive Oval for the ABC TV match between the Bulldogs and the Magpies. The last time these two teams met, the Dogs notched up a strike on the Maggies, 10 wins in a row after disposing of Port by 59 points at Elizabeth in Round 20 last year. But the 'Pies had a good win last weekend, in contrast to the narrow loss suffered by the Dogs. The reigning premiers started off in the style they've been recognised for, taking a 28-point lead at quarter-time after bagging 5.4 to one goal in the opening term. But the inconsistency that has been showing up in their game allowed the Magpies to reel the Dogs back to within a kick at the long break after kicking 6.1 to 2.2, a shocking single-term result for a team on top of the ladder. Inaccuracy would hurt the Magpies in the third quarter though, the Dogs managing to create a gap again by kicking 4.1 to Port's 2.5. At the final change, the Dogs held a 13-point lead. The visitors didn't have anything left in the final term, Centrals scoring a further 3.1 to 1.1 to take a 25-point victory. James Gowans was his usual despised self, scoring best afield honours for Centrals, while Mitch Banner was named best for Port.

The next day would see two more matches over the long weekend, next up we're off to the Commander Centre Oval in Unley where the Eagles and the Double Blues faced off. Earlier this season, the Blues looked the goods after shoving the Eagles aside at Adelaide Oval by 58 points. But things haven't gone as well since that night, only one win following that one. The Eagles on the other hand have fared much better since that night, but Sturt came to play and it was a closely fought match throughout. The Eagles would have the upper hand at quarter-time, but only by a point. Inaccuracy on goal by both sides saw the home side kick 2.5 to Sturt's 2.4. The Blues were more accurate in the second quarter, but the Eagles lead would stretch to five points by the half-time break after they kicked 3.5 to 3.1. This one would turn out to be an arm-wrestling match as both sides continued to trade blows on the scoreboard, the Eagles continuing to misfire while the Blues brought the gap back to one point again after they kicked 3.1 to 2.3. In the final stages the two sides seemed to be destined for a draw as both sides would have 10.8 a piece. But depending which side of the fence people were sitting on, either a defensive error or umpiring error gifted the Eagles a final goal to hand the home side victory. Mark McKenzie was voted best afield for the Eagles, while Tristan Gum took best on ground honours for Sturt.

On the other side of the city at Prospect Oval, the Roosters would play host to the Bloods. Prospect Oval hadn't been a happy hunting ground for Westies for a while, but they changed all that during the opening round of 2011 when they evaded a tenacious Roosters outfit to take a nine-point win. Things were not going to be that close this time though, the Bloods breaking out of the blocks quickly to score 4.3 whilst keeping North to just one goal. At the first change, the Bloods had themselves a 21-point advantage. The Roosters found more of the big sticks in the second quarter, but an inaccurate 4.5 to West's 5.1 would not bring that gap back. At the long break, the deficit was out to 29 points. The Roosters kept on nagging the Bloods when play resumed, but they would still find themselves behind the eight-ball at three quarter-time after the Bloods added 5.4 to 4.1. Going into the final change the Bloods would be up by 38 points. The goals would stop dead for the Bloods, the rest of their day would be marred by inaccuracy on goal. But the Roosters, try as they might, could not find their way to goals enough to take advantage of it. North kicked 2.1 to West's eight behinds, the visitors would leave Menzies Crescent with a 33-point victory. Steven Morris was named best for the Bloods, while the Roosters named James Bennett as their standout.

In the final match of Round 11, the holiday Monday brought over 6,500 SA footy-heads to Gliderol Stadium at the Bay as the Tigers took on the Redlegs. The last battle between these two was back in Round 3, the Tigers launched a raid at The Parade and escaped with a 21-point win. Norwood's confidence would have gone up a notch after outlasting the Bulldogs last week and the Redlegs hadn't won at Brighton Road in nine consecutive matches... was it time to end the streak? Early on, the suggestion would have been negative. The Tigers would take a quarter-time lead of 13 points after scoring 5.2 to 3.1. But the 'Legs would overturn that in the second quarter as they bagged 6.2 to a lousy 1.2, Norwood taking a 17-point lead at half-time. The third quarter was a goal-fest, the Tigers booting 7.1 to Norwood's five goals without a miss, bringing the visitors lead back to just four points, setting things up for a final quarter battle. It was all missed shots on goal for both sides, the only goal of the term went to the Redlegs, who altogether kicked 1.7 for the quarter while Glenelg managed just three behinds. Norwood would take a 14-point win, ending the Bay-side drought. Bryce Campbell was named best for the Redlegs, while Ty Allen was named best for the Bays.

INJURIES West - N. Caruso (ankle) Norwood - Clarke, Fuller (corked thigh)

REPORTS West - Macreadie (striking), Birss (illegal contact) North - Delvins (illegal contact)

U-18 CROWEATERS OFF TO GREAT START

The South Australian U-18's team is now two wins from two games heading into their match against Victoria Country this Saturday, starting with a 57-point victory against Queensland in Sydney, then coming home to take a 75-point win against NSW/ACT.

Saturday June 4 @ Blacktown Oval, NSW

South Australia 14.16 (100)d Queensland 6.7 (43)

Saturday June 11 @ AAMI Stadium

South Australia 19.19 (133) d NSW/ACT 9.4 (58)

R-11, Ladder