- May 8, 2001
- 5,667
- 818
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
- Other Teams
- CDFC (SANFL), Port Melb (VFL)
Hi Footy fans...
The minor round is all over red rover. This past weekend was the finish line for four sides, with one game perfectly placed as the "winner take all" match where the winner would take the last available spot in the 2015 SANFL Finals Series. There was a couple of other matches between top five teams, only one of those would have any September ramifications and like the previously mentioned clash, the ensuing mayhem wouldn't disappoint the hardcore SA footy-heads. But to bring us back down to earth, the league has recorded a 13% drop in overall attendance for this season. Whether that is due to the weather, the drawing power of the Adelaide Oval or a visible reaction to the AFL's infiltration of the competition... who knows. But we all know that no one likes to point out the obvious negatives. Anyways, on with the show.
Welcome to the Round 19 edition of the SANFL Wrap-Up.
The first match in this week's wrap takes us over to the Coopers Stadium at Norwood, where the reigning premiers in the Redlegs faced this year's minor premiers in the Eagles. It was probably fortunate the the 'Legs that the Eagles were unable to penetrate further into last year's finals as they seem to be a bogey team as of late. On both occasions last season the Eagles took the spoils, with a three-point win at The Parade in Round 8, followed by a 20-point win on their home deck in Round 13. Just when some thought it couldn't get any worse, when they faced each other in Round 3 this year, the Eagles hammered the 2015 champs into the Woodville turf with their 81-point win. Early on, the Redlegs took it up to the top-placed Eagles, kicking 4.2 to 2.1 to lead by 13 points at the first change. But they wouldn't be able to keep it up in the second term though, the Eagles bringing it back to one point by the long break after keeping the 'Legs to a single behind and scored 2.1 for themselves. From here it was an all out arm-wrestling match, with stoppages galore and the intensity bringing a finals-like feel to the contest. A bit of inaccuracy from the Eagles would stop them from taking the lead by the final change, but while they peppered their goals for a return of 2.4, the Redlegs could only take 3.1 in the third term to hold a four-point lead going into the final change. The final quarter was all Eagles, they would go on to send the reigning premiers into elimination mode for September as they kicked 3.1 to the home side's four behinds to win by 11 points. The Eagles named Angus Rowntree as their best afield, while the Redlegs named Brady Dawe as their best on ground.
The second match for the Saturday afternoon takes us to the Bay, the Tigers facing the Crows in their last hit-out for the season at Gliderol Stadium. The two inaugural contests between these teams ended with the points being shared with both sides taking victories in Rounds 4 & 16. But the word "shared" would be taken to a whole different level come Round 4 this season. Late in the final quarter the scores would be squared up at 51 points each, when suddenly the lights went out and an early finish was called and the two sides shared the points. This match was essentially a dead rubber game but would draw the biggest crowd of the weekend with a touch over 3,600 people turning up. There would also be eyes locked on the likes of Adelaide's James Podsiadly and Glenelg's Clint Alleway with the lethal Crows forward shaping up as a late challenger for the Ken Farmer Medal. Both teams came out firing in the opening term, the Crows getting the better of the scoring with their 7.3 to the Tigers' 5.3 to lead by two goals at the first change. But from here the Crows left the Tigers in their wake, the demolition job starting with their second term effort of 5.1 to 2.3 to stretch their lead out to 28 points by half-time. The Crows Show was fully on show in the third quarter, taking the deficit out to 50 points by three quarter-time after scoring a further 7.1 to 3.3. The only thing that would have bugged coach Heath Younie at the end of the day would have been that old question "What if?" as his charges finished off with 5.5 to 3.1 final quarter to run out 66-point winners. James Podsiadly was named best for Adelaide but missed out on the Farmer Medal, the Tigers would name Andrew Bradley as their best afield.
Game number three finds us taking on the longest trip in SANFL football, going down south to the Hickinbotham Oval at Noarlunga where the Panthers faced the Bulldogs. In the 2014 season, these two teams traded barbs on each other's home grounds with the Panthers winning by eight points at Elizabeth in Round 4, the Doggies returning the favour in Round 11 at Noarlunga with their 10-point win. This year's Round 6 match would go down as only the second time in history these teams have ever drawn, the Bulldogs' scoring the last goal of the match in a low-scoring encounter at the Ponderosa. This match was ideally placed at the end of the minor round, the Panthers only barely holding onto fifth facing a Bulldogs outfit on a roll and one win away from an previously thought unlikely finals appearance... this was practically, winner take all. The Bulldogs took up the challenge early, taking a 13-point lead into the quarter-time huddle with their 3.2 to South's 1.1. Some inaccuracy crept into the Dogs' camp in the second quarter, but they would still manage to stretch their advantage to 27 points by the long break after they added a further 4.4 to the Panthers' two goals. Centrals' third quarters have been a talking point all season among supporters, mostly negative due to indecision and overuse of the ball. But the Panthers couldn't muster up too much themselves in the third either, outscored 2.3 to 1.3 as the visitors added a goal to their half-time deficit. One last spark from the Panthers camp would unfortunately come up short, the blue and whites' 6.2 against the Dogs' two goals would see their fifth spot usurped. Centrals' sneaked into the five for the first time this year with their seven-point win. Luke Barmby was voted best for Centrals, while the Panthers named Brede Seccull as their best afield.
The last match for the Saturday arvo finds us heading to the inner northern suburbs, the Roosters hosting the Double Blues at the Prospect Oval. This would be the other dead rubber match for the weekend, with both sides out of reach of the top five. Sturt avoided the wooden spoon with relative ease due to North's horrible year, whose season started with a victory but ended up the cellar dwellers for 2015. These sides last clashed in Round 5, the Blues hammering the Roosters to the gap of 62 points, a third win in succession which included last year's two matches which were won by a combined total of 80 points. This was to be the last appearance for the Blues' coach Seamus Maloney as well as veterans Michael Coad and Matt Duldig, plus Roosters captain Greg Gallman who was also calling time on his SANFL career. The opening half was rather spirited by both sides, the Blues would find themselves ahead by 11 points at quarter-time after they scored 5.1 to North's 3.2. Sturt would have a case of the wobbles in front of goals in the second term, but the Roosters couldn't draw any points back by the break, the visitors kicked 1.9 to 1.1 as they extended their advantage to 19 points by half-time. When play resumed for the second half, the Blues started their breakaway and outscored the Roosters 4.3 to 2.3 to take their lead out to 31 points by three quarter-time. They'd put it well and truly beyond doubt in the final quarter, adding a further 5.4 to North's 3.1 to finish 2015 on a winning note, a 46-point victory. James Battersby was voted best for Sturt, while the Roosters named Michael Virgin as their standout.
The final match for the entire season would be played out on the Sunday afternoon, we now head out to the Alberton Oval for the match between the Magpies and the Bloods. Last year these sides took victories on their home grounds, the Magpies winning by 58 points at Alberton in Round 4 followed by the Bloods' 17-point win in Round 11. Then in Round 10 this season, the Magpies landed at Richmond to inflict a 50-point back-hander. Thanks to the Eagles' defeat of the Redlegs the following day, there was nothing to lose or gain in regards to finals placement so this was going to be a preview for the Qualifying Final where these sides would face each other again next weekend. A great deal of Port's AFL contingent have been qualified for finals duty with the Magpies, so this was a real test coming for the Bloods ahead of September. Port would start off best, scoring 4.2 to Westies' 2.1 in the opening term to take a 13-point lead at the first change. The Bloods would bring the gap back to a single straight kick by the long break, but could have been ahead had they been more accurate. They scored 3.5 to 2.2 to reel the gap back to four points at half-time. Unfortunately for the Bloods fans, the Magpies' second half would send shivers through their spines as the home side would kick 5.2 and keep the Bloods to just 1.2 to take a 28-point lead into the last quarter. The Bloods showed more fight in the final term, but the damage was already done as the Magpies kicked a further six goals without a miss to the visitors' 4.3 to win by 37 points. Port named Paul Stewart as their best afield, while the Bloods named Jason Porplyzia as their best on ground.
FINAL SCORES IN ROUND 19 OF THE SANFL...
Saturday August 29
Woodville-West Torrens 9.7 (61)
Norwood 7.8 (50)
3,199 @ Coopers Stadium, Norwood
Adelaide 24.10 (154)
Glenelg 13.10 (88)
3,613 @ Gliderol Stadium, Glenelg
Central District 11.9 (75)
South Adelaide 10.8 (68)
2,153 @ Hickinbotham Oval, Noarlunga
Sturt 15.17 (107)
North Adelaide 9.7 (61)
2,248 @ Prospect Oval
Sunday August 30
Port Adelaide 17.6 (108)
West Adelaide 10.11 (71)
3,123 @ Alberton Oval
INJURIES
Sturt -- Coad (hamstring)
North -- O'Keefe (hamstring)
REPORTS
None known at time of post
LEAGUE LADDER -- Final Placings
---------------------------------------
W-WT -- 32pts (16-2-0), 58.2%
Port -- 26pts (13-5-0), 55.8%
West -- 22pts (11-7-0), 54.9%
Norwood -- 22pts (11-7-0), 51.1%
Central -- 19pts (9-8-1), 51.6%
---------------------------------------
South -- 19pts (9-8-1), 51%
Adelaide -- 17pts (8-9-1), 54.2%
Sturt -- 12pts (6-12-0), 46.9%
Glenelg -- 9pts (4-13-1), 44.4%
North -- 2pts (1-17-0), 33.9%
---------------------------------------
UNDER-18 FINALS -- Sturt bundled out, Roosters to face Eagles
The U-18 Macca's Cup Finals Series kicked off on Saturday at City Mazda Stadium, starting with the Elimination Final where the Tigers hammered the Double Blues out of the race with their 71-point victory. It only took two players to win the game off their own boots in attack, Matt Allen was a handful up forward for the Tigers, kicking six goals to make up a third of their whole score. The later match saw the Roosters take a 44-point win against the Redlegs to set up an encounter with the Eagles next week, Keiran Agius and Kye Vandemoer doing the most damage with their joint eight goal effort. Next week's finals will see both matches on Saturday afternoon, more details below.
RESERVES & JUNIOR LEAGUE MEDALS
The 2015 incarnation of the U-18 McCallum/Tomkins Medal has gone to Norwood midfielder Jack Bollmeyer who finished with 22 votes, five votes ahead of nearest rival Jack Comitogianni of the Eagles. Recruited from Tea Tree Gully FC, Jack has averaged 27 disposals in his 13 appearances, from which 10 of those games netted him best on ground honours. The Reserves Magarey Medal was shared between Norwood's Dylan Reinbrecht and the Eagles' Matt Appleton, who finished on 16 votes each. Appleton came to the Eagles from Yorke Peninsula club Moonta, starting in their junior ranks before taking U-18 and Reserves flags in 2012 and 2014 respectively, even taking the Alan Stewart Medal in the 2012 victory. Reinbrecht was brought to Norwood from the Athelstone Football Club and is considered a tackling machine, no more evident than his Round 5 league appearance against Glenelg where he racked up 18 tackles.
EAGLES SWEEP THE POOLS
The accolades just keep rolling in for the Eagles. Not only did they take out the league minor premiership, but also those for the Reserves and the Under-18's. The League & U-18's finished with just two losses for the season, while the Reserves were undefeated for the year. As a result, the Eagles have also scored the Stanley H. Lewis Trophy for excellence across the board, with 3300 points accrued by the club. The trophy, named after former league chairman Stanley Heathcote Lewis, has been awarded to the best performing team in all grades in a season since 1962.
So this is it people... its finals time!!!
Saturday September 5 @ Maughan Thiem Hyundai Oval, Woodville
RESERVES ELIMINATION FINAL
Glenelg vs. Sturt -- 11:25am
MACCA'S CUP 1st SEMI-FINAL
Norwood vs. Glenelg -- 2:20pm
Saturday September 5 @ Gliderol Stadium, Glenelg
RESERVES QUALIFYING FINAL
Port Adelaide vs. North Adelaide -- 11:25am
MACCA'S CUP 2nd SEMI-FINAL
Woodville-West Torrens vs. North Adelaide -- 2:10pm
Sunday September 6 @ Adelaide Oval
LEAGUE ELIMINATION FINAL
Norwood vs. Central District -- 12:10pm
LEAGUE QUALIFYING FINAL
Port Adelaide vs. Woodville-West Torrens -- 3:10pm
So until next weekend... see you at the Footy!
The minor round is all over red rover. This past weekend was the finish line for four sides, with one game perfectly placed as the "winner take all" match where the winner would take the last available spot in the 2015 SANFL Finals Series. There was a couple of other matches between top five teams, only one of those would have any September ramifications and like the previously mentioned clash, the ensuing mayhem wouldn't disappoint the hardcore SA footy-heads. But to bring us back down to earth, the league has recorded a 13% drop in overall attendance for this season. Whether that is due to the weather, the drawing power of the Adelaide Oval or a visible reaction to the AFL's infiltration of the competition... who knows. But we all know that no one likes to point out the obvious negatives. Anyways, on with the show.
Welcome to the Round 19 edition of the SANFL Wrap-Up.
The first match in this week's wrap takes us over to the Coopers Stadium at Norwood, where the reigning premiers in the Redlegs faced this year's minor premiers in the Eagles. It was probably fortunate the the 'Legs that the Eagles were unable to penetrate further into last year's finals as they seem to be a bogey team as of late. On both occasions last season the Eagles took the spoils, with a three-point win at The Parade in Round 8, followed by a 20-point win on their home deck in Round 13. Just when some thought it couldn't get any worse, when they faced each other in Round 3 this year, the Eagles hammered the 2015 champs into the Woodville turf with their 81-point win. Early on, the Redlegs took it up to the top-placed Eagles, kicking 4.2 to 2.1 to lead by 13 points at the first change. But they wouldn't be able to keep it up in the second term though, the Eagles bringing it back to one point by the long break after keeping the 'Legs to a single behind and scored 2.1 for themselves. From here it was an all out arm-wrestling match, with stoppages galore and the intensity bringing a finals-like feel to the contest. A bit of inaccuracy from the Eagles would stop them from taking the lead by the final change, but while they peppered their goals for a return of 2.4, the Redlegs could only take 3.1 in the third term to hold a four-point lead going into the final change. The final quarter was all Eagles, they would go on to send the reigning premiers into elimination mode for September as they kicked 3.1 to the home side's four behinds to win by 11 points. The Eagles named Angus Rowntree as their best afield, while the Redlegs named Brady Dawe as their best on ground.
The second match for the Saturday afternoon takes us to the Bay, the Tigers facing the Crows in their last hit-out for the season at Gliderol Stadium. The two inaugural contests between these teams ended with the points being shared with both sides taking victories in Rounds 4 & 16. But the word "shared" would be taken to a whole different level come Round 4 this season. Late in the final quarter the scores would be squared up at 51 points each, when suddenly the lights went out and an early finish was called and the two sides shared the points. This match was essentially a dead rubber game but would draw the biggest crowd of the weekend with a touch over 3,600 people turning up. There would also be eyes locked on the likes of Adelaide's James Podsiadly and Glenelg's Clint Alleway with the lethal Crows forward shaping up as a late challenger for the Ken Farmer Medal. Both teams came out firing in the opening term, the Crows getting the better of the scoring with their 7.3 to the Tigers' 5.3 to lead by two goals at the first change. But from here the Crows left the Tigers in their wake, the demolition job starting with their second term effort of 5.1 to 2.3 to stretch their lead out to 28 points by half-time. The Crows Show was fully on show in the third quarter, taking the deficit out to 50 points by three quarter-time after scoring a further 7.1 to 3.3. The only thing that would have bugged coach Heath Younie at the end of the day would have been that old question "What if?" as his charges finished off with 5.5 to 3.1 final quarter to run out 66-point winners. James Podsiadly was named best for Adelaide but missed out on the Farmer Medal, the Tigers would name Andrew Bradley as their best afield.
Game number three finds us taking on the longest trip in SANFL football, going down south to the Hickinbotham Oval at Noarlunga where the Panthers faced the Bulldogs. In the 2014 season, these two teams traded barbs on each other's home grounds with the Panthers winning by eight points at Elizabeth in Round 4, the Doggies returning the favour in Round 11 at Noarlunga with their 10-point win. This year's Round 6 match would go down as only the second time in history these teams have ever drawn, the Bulldogs' scoring the last goal of the match in a low-scoring encounter at the Ponderosa. This match was ideally placed at the end of the minor round, the Panthers only barely holding onto fifth facing a Bulldogs outfit on a roll and one win away from an previously thought unlikely finals appearance... this was practically, winner take all. The Bulldogs took up the challenge early, taking a 13-point lead into the quarter-time huddle with their 3.2 to South's 1.1. Some inaccuracy crept into the Dogs' camp in the second quarter, but they would still manage to stretch their advantage to 27 points by the long break after they added a further 4.4 to the Panthers' two goals. Centrals' third quarters have been a talking point all season among supporters, mostly negative due to indecision and overuse of the ball. But the Panthers couldn't muster up too much themselves in the third either, outscored 2.3 to 1.3 as the visitors added a goal to their half-time deficit. One last spark from the Panthers camp would unfortunately come up short, the blue and whites' 6.2 against the Dogs' two goals would see their fifth spot usurped. Centrals' sneaked into the five for the first time this year with their seven-point win. Luke Barmby was voted best for Centrals, while the Panthers named Brede Seccull as their best afield.
The last match for the Saturday arvo finds us heading to the inner northern suburbs, the Roosters hosting the Double Blues at the Prospect Oval. This would be the other dead rubber match for the weekend, with both sides out of reach of the top five. Sturt avoided the wooden spoon with relative ease due to North's horrible year, whose season started with a victory but ended up the cellar dwellers for 2015. These sides last clashed in Round 5, the Blues hammering the Roosters to the gap of 62 points, a third win in succession which included last year's two matches which were won by a combined total of 80 points. This was to be the last appearance for the Blues' coach Seamus Maloney as well as veterans Michael Coad and Matt Duldig, plus Roosters captain Greg Gallman who was also calling time on his SANFL career. The opening half was rather spirited by both sides, the Blues would find themselves ahead by 11 points at quarter-time after they scored 5.1 to North's 3.2. Sturt would have a case of the wobbles in front of goals in the second term, but the Roosters couldn't draw any points back by the break, the visitors kicked 1.9 to 1.1 as they extended their advantage to 19 points by half-time. When play resumed for the second half, the Blues started their breakaway and outscored the Roosters 4.3 to 2.3 to take their lead out to 31 points by three quarter-time. They'd put it well and truly beyond doubt in the final quarter, adding a further 5.4 to North's 3.1 to finish 2015 on a winning note, a 46-point victory. James Battersby was voted best for Sturt, while the Roosters named Michael Virgin as their standout.
The final match for the entire season would be played out on the Sunday afternoon, we now head out to the Alberton Oval for the match between the Magpies and the Bloods. Last year these sides took victories on their home grounds, the Magpies winning by 58 points at Alberton in Round 4 followed by the Bloods' 17-point win in Round 11. Then in Round 10 this season, the Magpies landed at Richmond to inflict a 50-point back-hander. Thanks to the Eagles' defeat of the Redlegs the following day, there was nothing to lose or gain in regards to finals placement so this was going to be a preview for the Qualifying Final where these sides would face each other again next weekend. A great deal of Port's AFL contingent have been qualified for finals duty with the Magpies, so this was a real test coming for the Bloods ahead of September. Port would start off best, scoring 4.2 to Westies' 2.1 in the opening term to take a 13-point lead at the first change. The Bloods would bring the gap back to a single straight kick by the long break, but could have been ahead had they been more accurate. They scored 3.5 to 2.2 to reel the gap back to four points at half-time. Unfortunately for the Bloods fans, the Magpies' second half would send shivers through their spines as the home side would kick 5.2 and keep the Bloods to just 1.2 to take a 28-point lead into the last quarter. The Bloods showed more fight in the final term, but the damage was already done as the Magpies kicked a further six goals without a miss to the visitors' 4.3 to win by 37 points. Port named Paul Stewart as their best afield, while the Bloods named Jason Porplyzia as their best on ground.
FINAL SCORES IN ROUND 19 OF THE SANFL...
Saturday August 29
Woodville-West Torrens 9.7 (61)
Norwood 7.8 (50)
3,199 @ Coopers Stadium, Norwood
Adelaide 24.10 (154)
Glenelg 13.10 (88)
3,613 @ Gliderol Stadium, Glenelg
Central District 11.9 (75)
South Adelaide 10.8 (68)
2,153 @ Hickinbotham Oval, Noarlunga
Sturt 15.17 (107)
North Adelaide 9.7 (61)
2,248 @ Prospect Oval
Sunday August 30
Port Adelaide 17.6 (108)
West Adelaide 10.11 (71)
3,123 @ Alberton Oval
INJURIES
Sturt -- Coad (hamstring)
North -- O'Keefe (hamstring)
REPORTS
None known at time of post
LEAGUE LADDER -- Final Placings
---------------------------------------
W-WT -- 32pts (16-2-0), 58.2%
Port -- 26pts (13-5-0), 55.8%
West -- 22pts (11-7-0), 54.9%
Norwood -- 22pts (11-7-0), 51.1%
Central -- 19pts (9-8-1), 51.6%
---------------------------------------
South -- 19pts (9-8-1), 51%
Adelaide -- 17pts (8-9-1), 54.2%
Sturt -- 12pts (6-12-0), 46.9%
Glenelg -- 9pts (4-13-1), 44.4%
North -- 2pts (1-17-0), 33.9%
---------------------------------------
UNDER-18 FINALS -- Sturt bundled out, Roosters to face Eagles
The U-18 Macca's Cup Finals Series kicked off on Saturday at City Mazda Stadium, starting with the Elimination Final where the Tigers hammered the Double Blues out of the race with their 71-point victory. It only took two players to win the game off their own boots in attack, Matt Allen was a handful up forward for the Tigers, kicking six goals to make up a third of their whole score. The later match saw the Roosters take a 44-point win against the Redlegs to set up an encounter with the Eagles next week, Keiran Agius and Kye Vandemoer doing the most damage with their joint eight goal effort. Next week's finals will see both matches on Saturday afternoon, more details below.
RESERVES & JUNIOR LEAGUE MEDALS
The 2015 incarnation of the U-18 McCallum/Tomkins Medal has gone to Norwood midfielder Jack Bollmeyer who finished with 22 votes, five votes ahead of nearest rival Jack Comitogianni of the Eagles. Recruited from Tea Tree Gully FC, Jack has averaged 27 disposals in his 13 appearances, from which 10 of those games netted him best on ground honours. The Reserves Magarey Medal was shared between Norwood's Dylan Reinbrecht and the Eagles' Matt Appleton, who finished on 16 votes each. Appleton came to the Eagles from Yorke Peninsula club Moonta, starting in their junior ranks before taking U-18 and Reserves flags in 2012 and 2014 respectively, even taking the Alan Stewart Medal in the 2012 victory. Reinbrecht was brought to Norwood from the Athelstone Football Club and is considered a tackling machine, no more evident than his Round 5 league appearance against Glenelg where he racked up 18 tackles.
EAGLES SWEEP THE POOLS
The accolades just keep rolling in for the Eagles. Not only did they take out the league minor premiership, but also those for the Reserves and the Under-18's. The League & U-18's finished with just two losses for the season, while the Reserves were undefeated for the year. As a result, the Eagles have also scored the Stanley H. Lewis Trophy for excellence across the board, with 3300 points accrued by the club. The trophy, named after former league chairman Stanley Heathcote Lewis, has been awarded to the best performing team in all grades in a season since 1962.
So this is it people... its finals time!!!
Saturday September 5 @ Maughan Thiem Hyundai Oval, Woodville
RESERVES ELIMINATION FINAL
Glenelg vs. Sturt -- 11:25am
MACCA'S CUP 1st SEMI-FINAL
Norwood vs. Glenelg -- 2:20pm
Saturday September 5 @ Gliderol Stadium, Glenelg
RESERVES QUALIFYING FINAL
Port Adelaide vs. North Adelaide -- 11:25am
MACCA'S CUP 2nd SEMI-FINAL
Woodville-West Torrens vs. North Adelaide -- 2:10pm
Sunday September 6 @ Adelaide Oval
LEAGUE ELIMINATION FINAL
Norwood vs. Central District -- 12:10pm
LEAGUE QUALIFYING FINAL
Port Adelaide vs. Woodville-West Torrens -- 3:10pm
So until next weekend... see you at the Footy!
