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Team |
Score |
SC |
South Adelaide | 38 | |
West Adelaide | 144 | SC |
North Adelaide | 118 | |
Sturt | 92 | SC |
Port Adelaide Magpies | 106 | |
Glenelg | 104 | SC |
Central District | 51 | |
Norwood | 60 | SC |
Total Crowd 11,537 (Avg 2,884)
This past weekend, the attention on SA football has been shared around equally. With the big South Australian AFL derby happening on Sunday, the SANFL action was spread around all the other vacant timeslots and amazingly the numbers are still above the 10,000 aggregate figure. This time around over 11,000 SA footy-heads from the north through to the south filed through the gates which is a trend we'd all like to see kept up. There were a couple of close results including one that no-one saw coming and a pounding of horrid proportions. The next couple of weeks will be of vital importance for some players, with a looming interstate clash on the horizon an inital list of possible participants have already been selected, which we'll get into later.
First up in the wrap, we head on down to the Hickinbotham Oval for some Friday Night Mayhem with the match between the Panthers and the Bloods. The Panthers have had next to no luck when it comes to the Blood & Tars. The last dozen has seen Westies take all but one match, stretching from mid-2008 to late 2012. That single blemish came in the opening round of 2009 when the Panthers outlasted the visitors at Noarlunga for a 10-point win, but those results haven't been repeated since. Their last clash almost broke the drought but it ended in heartbreak as West escaped with the slimmest of wins at Richmond in Round 22 last year. It still wouldn't be South's time after this one, the Bloods producing a five-goal run in time-on in among their 7.3 opening term to the host's 1.2 to take a 37-point lead at quarter-time. That deficit would blow out to over 10 goals by half-time, Westies adding a further 5.3 to South's single goal to lead by 64 points at the break. South's third quarter would be of little effect against West's big advantage, although the Panthers outscored the Bloods 3.4 to 2.2 the gap was still 56 points wide at three quarter-time. But the ultimate punishment was yet to come. The Bloods were ruthless in their final attack, ramming home a further 8.4 to a laughable two behinds. South coach Ron Fuller would have had some more harsh words with his men after the match as West left Noarlunga with a 106-point win. Joel Tippett was voted best for the Bloods, while the Panthers named Josh Thewlis as their only real highlight.
Next up its time for some Saturday afternoon footy, starting with a visit to the Prospect Oval where the Roosters faced the Double Blues. The Blues have had a good record against the Roosters as of late, from the last 11 encounters they have taken seven wins including their last match at Menzies Crescent where they took the Roosters to the cleaners with a 63-point win in Round 13 of the 2012 season. The Blues finally shook off their horrid pre-season with a victory against Port last week, but North's big win at Elizabeth got their engines running hot as well. The game started with an evenly fought opening term, the behinds making the difference come quarter-time as North led by two points with their 3.6 to Sturt's 3.4. The Blues got into a better rhythm in the second quarter as they took over the lead with their 6.1 to the Roosters' 4.3. At the half-time break, Sturt were in possession of an eight-point lead. After the break, the inaccuracy bug again reared its head in the Roosters' camp. But they still managed to re-take control of proceedings, while Sturt managed just two goals the Roosters added 4.6 to their score to take a 10-point lead going into the final change. Unfortunately for the Blues, key personnel injuries and AFL call-ups finally caught up with them as the Roosters booted a further 6.1 to 3.3 to take a 26-point win. Lewis Johnston kicked seven goals, but it was Nathan Gordon that took out best on ground honours for North while John Greenslade was named best for Sturt.
For the other Saturday arvo fixture we head down the Port Road to the Alberton Oval as the Magpies faced the Tigers in the ABC Match of the Round. The Tigers have had the better percentage of wins from their last 12 encounters with the 'Pies, but their last stoush ended with Port sending them home with their tails between their legs after a five-goal loss in Round 20. From the last dozen matches, the Bays have won nine games which included seven straight victories from mid-2008 to late-2010. Lousy shooting on goal would see a tied-up quarter-time, Glenelg's unbelievable inaccuracy saw them kick 4.8 to Port's 5.2... what if, eh? The Tigers attack was fierce, but the rewards just weren't presenting themselves on the scoreboard. They did however, take the lead by half-time after adding a further 3.2 to 2.3. At the break, the visitors were ahead by five points. The goals would come far more easier in the third quarter, the half-time deficit remained intact at the final change after both sides went blow-for-blow on the scoreboard with their 5.2 each. But in the end, some relief came for new Port coach Ken McGregor as his charges just managed to keep the Tigers at bay long enough to take a narrow victory. The Magpies kicked 4.3 to the Tigers' 3.2 in the final term to take a two-point win, delivering the former Crow his first senior triumph as coach. Steve Summerton was named best for Port, while Jarryd Lyons was named best for Glenelg.
In the final match of Round 3, its time for some Saturday Night Lights as we head up north to the Playford Alive Oval in Elizabeth as the Bulldogs prepared to face the Redlegs. The last 11 outings between these two teams have seen them become the new-age rivals of the SANFL competition, there's been some close finishes at both Elizabeth and The Parade and even a Grand Final. The Dogs have had six wins, but the Redlegs have taken the last two dust-ups at home and away, the last coming at Norwood in Round 15 where the 'Legs took a 23-point win. With Norwood's current form and the Bulldogs a little out-of-sorts, many thought that the reigning premiers would come and conquer without much of a fight. Nothing could have been further from the truth as the Bulldogs surprised the 'Legs with a 3.2 to 2.1 first quarter to lead by seven points at the first change. As expected, the Redlegs didn't slumber for long, but the Dogs made them earn everything. The visitors managed to keep the Dogs to 1.1 in the second term, but the 4.1 they kicked kept the door open for Centrals. At half-time, Norwood held an 11-point lead. The Dogs sent their fans into a frenzy as they reeled the Redlegs back within striking distance of the lead, only inaccuracy stopping them as they kicked 2.5 to 1.2. The 'Legs were ahead by just two points going into the final term. The Bulldogs just couldn't make up the gap in the end, but the Redlegs would leave Elizabeth with something to think about anyway. Norwood scored 2.2 to 1.1 in the final term as they escaped the scrap with a nine-point win. The name Thomas would feature as best afield for both clubs this week, with Matt starring for Norwood and Dogs captain Paul leading by example.
INJURIES Sturt - Coad (ankle), Crane (eye) Glenelg - Kirkby (knee), Tenace (hamstring)
REPORTS None known at time of post.
The initial training squad has been named, with 33 players from each of the nine SANFL clubs represented at this point. This will of course be cut over the coming weeks in the lead-up to the match against the NEAFL Northern Conference of Queensland & Northern Territory at the City Mazda Stadium in Richmond on Saturday May 11. Coach Michael Godden will this year be joined by former Glenelg coach Mark Mickan and Centrals assistant coach John Platten for the midfield, Former Port reserves coach Bryan Beinke will be looking over the defence while former Norwood reserves coach Jarrod Cotton will be watching the forwards. The U-20's training squad has also been named, coached by Centrals' reserves premiership coach Jeff Brown. They will play the curtain raiser against the QLD/NT U-23's.
Central District - Paul Thomas, James Boyd, Ryan Williams, Brayden O’Hara
Glenelg – Ruory Kirkby, Ty Allen
North Adelaide – Matt Campbell, Leigh Ryswyk, George Thring, Todd Miles
Norwood – Jace Bode, Alex Georgiou, Kieran McGuinness, Brett Zorzi, Matthew Panos
Port Adelaide – James Meiklejohn, Sam Gray, Kory Beard
South Adelaide – Michael Wundke, Nick Liddle, Joel Cross
Sturt – Michael Coad, Fraser Evans
West Adelaide – Chris Schmidt, Jon Beech, Ryan Ferguson, Daniel Caire, Joel Tippett
Woodville-West Torrens – Luke Powell, Andrew Ainger, Matthew Goldsworthy, Luke Jarrad, Craig Parry
Central District - Travis Schiller, Caleb Edmead, Cooper Stoll
Glenelg – Harrison Gill, Jacob Carger, Darcy Bailey, Sam Underwood
North Adelaide – Michael McMahon, Nick Amato, George Hannaford, Cameron Craig
Norwood – Ed Smart, Tullio DeMatteis, Luke Wilson, Aaron Luccon
Port Adelaide – Aseri Raikiwasa, Jason Nyskohus, Tom Sandercock, Sean Lemmens
South Adelaide – Emmanuel Irra, Todd McKay, Bryce Damin, Sam Tharaldsen
Sturt – Levi Krause, Guy Page, Dylan Matsen
West Adelaide – Mason Middleton, Thomas Schott, Oliver Johnson, Tom Carter
Woodville-West Torrens – Matthew Appleton, Karl Muller, Sam Rowland, Jack Muirhead
George "Tuppence" Kersley was a prominent figure in the history of the Woodville-West Torrens football club in the years before they merged. A former coach of the Eagles and Warriors juniors through over two decades starting in the 1940's, his sides won him eight premierships and was the man behind two of SA's most recognised football figures in Lindsay Head and Malcolm Blight. In the merged era of the WWTFC, he became one of the club selectors. He died last week at the age of 102, a month shy of 103. May he rest in peace.