SANFL 2021 -- Round 13 Wrap-Up

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raboyle

Norm Smith Medallist
May 8, 2001
5,667
818
X Convenience Oval, Elizabeth
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
CDFC (SANFL), Port Melb (VFL)
Hi Footy fans...

Last week saw some of the lowest attendances I've seen in one round in recent memory. Not one single game drew more than 2,000 people, the closest being 1,977 and the lowest was 930. Let that number sink in... 930 at Richmond. Only two weeks previous, four games tallied over 11,000. Sturt continues to be one of the best drawing clubs despite their current position and loss of on-field manpower. The Eagles have been getting some better figures this season, with numbers at Woodville topping 2,000 more regularly compared to other recent years. Of course, the Tigers' winning streak has been bringing people back to Brighton Road. To be fair though, their figures have been quite good over the years anyways. And Norwood can pat themselves on the back as well, with only one game drawing less than 2k thus far. What of the rest? The Magpies have interest, but you'd think that they would get more than the sub-2k crowds they have been getting at Alberton. North have drawn that number only once so far, and as for the Doggies and West? Well it seems the Dogs' faithful are few and far between now that they aren't the power they once were and the Bloods are probably the biggest victim of a sporting culture that only appeals to some when they're doing well. But now that I've got that out the way...

Welcome to the Round 13 edition of the SANFL Wrap-Up.

We kick off this week's wrap with some Friday Night Mayhem, the lights of Coopers Stadium burning brightly for the clash of inner east and inner south -- the Redlegs and the Double Blues. Earlier this season in Round 2 at Unley, the Blues' second half efforts let the Redlegs leave with the points. Norwood's third term proved the game-breaker, although were still well within strike. Sturt couldn't make up the deficit, going down by 21 points. Last week the 'Legs outran a persistent Bulldogs by five goals at The Parade, while the Blues took down a wayward South by 11 points at Unley. The weather was going to fool with this match horribly, a near torrential downpour that lasted only minutes over the city turned the ground into a slip 'n' slide. Before that actually arrived at The Parade, the Blues could only manage 1.3 to the 'Legs single major to lead by three points at quarter-time. The rain did arrive for the second term, but the Blues seemed to revel in it as they scored 3.1 to the Redlegs' 1.2. They could go into the sheds at half-time with some real confidence after adapting so well in the wet, holding onto a 14-point lead at the break. Early in the third term, the Blues would lose a forward to injury. That could have hampered them easily, but instead it spurred them onwards in the difficult conditions. Sturt kept the home side to just one lousy behind whilst adding a further 3.2 for themselves, extending their advantage to 33 points by three quarter-time. The Redlegs' final term efforts could very well have seen quite the comeback story of the season, but after kicking a goal early on, a string of behinds was all they could manage. Despite being silenced in that last quarter, the Blues would still take a 23-point win, bringing with it a very realistic chance of qualifying for finals football. Tom Lewis was a menace to Norwood society, named Sturt's best with 20 disposals and 21 tackles. Matthew Nunn was named Norwood's best, he finished with 20 disposals and 23 tackles.

The rest of the fixtures were played out across the Saturday afternoon, we now head over to the Hisense Stadium in Richmond where the Bloods hosted the Roosters. There's little to be said about their last clash other than the fact it was a walkover. At Prospect in Round 6, the Roosters hammered the Bloods by 68 points and it could very well have been at least four more goals on top of that if they didn't fluff a few chances in the opening term! North's third term was the highlight, kicking eight goals to two in their rampage. At this time, North have been clinging to fifth spot like their lives depended on it and their display against the Magpies last week demonstrated as such. They ran the 'Pies into the ground, winning by 76 points. Its been the same old story for the poor Westies faithful, their luckless streak continuing at the hands of the Crows by six goals and it wasn't going to get much better today. Despite kicking the first goal at seven minutes after both sides missed early chances, the Bloods found themselves in familiar territory as North kicked to a 14-point lead at quarter-time with the board reading 3.3 to 1.1. Inaccuracy was rife in the second term, with both teams wasting five scoring shots each. The Roosters' advantage was stretched by a further six points by the half-time siren, kicking three goals to two in that quarter. The Roosters finally shook off the Bloods' challenge in the third quarter as they held the Bloods to a single goal while they scored 4.2 for themselves to take their lead out to double that of their lead at half-time. Going into the final change, they were away to a 40-point lead. For all their impressive pressure on the man, it didn't translate on the board for West. The damage was all but done and all they could do is try to avert a blowout. Both teams kicked three goals in the final quarter, the end deficit only extended by virtue of missed opportunities on goal. North added five behinds to the Bloods' one to leave Milner Road with a 44-point win. Campbell Combe was named North's best with 39 disposals, 11 marks and nine clearances. For the Bloods, Elliot Dunkin gathered 31 disposals and eight marks to be named best for West.

Game number three for the weekend takes us to the seaside and into the ACH Group Stadium in Glenelg where the Tigers took on the Crows. The Bays gave the young Crows outfit a football lesson last time they met, a near 15-goal lesson back in Round 8. Adelaide may have had some big-time firepower in the ruck, but everywhere else they were getting ripped apart. The Tigers were aiming for an even better record now, their defeat of the reigning premiers last week bringing them one win away from beating an all-time record for the club set back in 1969. Adelaide got a second win in succession against West to register their fourth win of the year. Of course the Tigers could go in with confidence, but perhaps the notion of going one better over a 50+ year record may have got to them a little bit. After leaking the first major to the Crows, the Tigers seemingly steadied to kick 2.1 for themselves. But then the Crows leapfrogged them, dominating the rest of the opening stanza. Only some late inaccuracy saved the Bays from going perhaps three goals down at quarter-time with the scoreboard reading 3.3 to 2.1. The Tigers hit back in the second quarter, reducing the margin to a single straight kick by the half-time siren with their 4.1 to Adelaide's 3.2. At the long break, the Crows led by just three points. Glenelg opened the third term with a bit of a flurry, scoring 3.3 to the Crows' single goal to take a two-goal lead approaching time-on. But that added time stretched more than 10 minutes and in that period, the Crows regained the lead by three quarter-time. They kept the Bays to a single behind, kicking 3.3 to restore their quarter-time margin of eight points. With their streak under threat, the Tigers fired up in the last term and once they had the lead after three minutes they never gave it up. Not that the Crows shrunk back into their shells, but Glenelg's attack was nigh unstoppable. The home side scored 8.2 to the Crows' 4.3 as the Tigers re-wrote the record books, a 15-point victory giving them their 12th straight win. Luke Partington was the everywhere man for the Tigers, named their best with 31 disposals, three goals and five tackles. For Adelaide, they named Ronin O'Connor as their best afield with his 21 disposals and 12 tackles.

The fourth game of the round finds us heading down the southern expressway to the Flinders University Stadium in Noarlunga, for the battle of third and second on the league ladder between the Panthers and the Eagles. Back in Round 6, the Panthers pulled off quite the job in their raid of the Eagles' nest. After the Eagles fought back from three goals down at quarter-time to lead by eight points at the long break, South then kicked eight goals to five in the second half to take an eight-point win. The Eagles were especially wasteful in that second half, kicking seven behinds in that time period. After the Panthers only just outlasted West back in Round 9, they've dropped their last two games by less than two straight kicks including last week against Sturt. Also last weekend, the Eagles made a decent challenge to the Tigers, despite going down by 19 points at Oval Avenue. The Panthers would have the first major on the board, but it was the Eagles that would do most of the successful attacking, taking an 11-point lead into quarter-time with their score of 4.1 to 2.2. A mid-term rally by the Panthers wouldn't do too much to the reigning premiers' lead except cut it back by a point by the long break, the Eagles more efficient shooting keeping them ahead. South could very well have at least evened it up, but their 3.2 to 3.1 saw the visitors still ahead by 10 points at half-time. Going by the inside-50 count, the blue and whites should have been even or ahead. Alas, their recent misfires were about to come to a head. This was no more evident in the third term where their accuracy was at it's worst. The Eagles weren't making giant strides themselves, but would kick three goals without a miss to South's 1.5 to take their lead to 17 points going into the final change. The Eagles completely shut out the home side in the final term, keeping the Panthers scoreless whilst scoring 3.1 for themselves to finish six-goal victors. Tyson Stengle kicked five goals, but as for best afield that went to James Tsitas with his 24 disposals, eight clearances and eight tackles. For the Panthers, they named Matt Broadbent as their best with 26 disposals and seven tackles.

The last game for the weekend takes us to the upper northern end of the Adelaide metro, to the X-Convenience Oval in Elizabeth where the Bulldogs faced the Magpies. Earlier this year at Alberton in Round 2, the Bulldogs had the first of one of many fadeouts this season. After taking the Magpies to task in the first half and with a five-kick lead at the long break, Port then held the Dogs to one behind for the entire second half and kicked 6.8 to win by 17 points. It was nothing short of a straight up pantsing, their first half efforts going completely wasted and leaving the Centrals' faithful in attendance astounded. Since then, the Dogs have only marginally improved with several outings where they have shown improvement but lacking finish with their latest offering a five-goal loss at The Parade. The Magpies have hit a wall themselves, losing their last three including last week against the Roosters. This was nothing short of an all out slog, the Dogs only in front by three points at quarter-time with the board reading 2.4 to 2.1. Extraordinarily, the Dogs held the Magpies to just two points in the second term but could only manage a paltry 1.3 for themselves. A poor return given that the Elizabeth deck pulled up remarkably well and conditions were relatively good for footy. At the long break, the Dogs were leading by 10 points. Centrals still couldn't make most of their attacks count when the game resumed for the second half and continued to set shots wide. Port began to stir to life as well, bringing the gap back to eight points by three quarter-time after outscoring the home side with their two goals to 1.4. The visitors began to make their move in the final term, scoring the first goal of the quarter within 20 seconds of the restart. Centrals answered soon after with their own but then a trio of Port majors saw the lead slip away. The Dogs got back within a kick deep in time on, but the 'Pies finally put landed the telling blow with less than a minute to go. Altogether they scored five goals without a miss to Centrals' 2.1 to leave Elizabeth with a nine-point win. Hamish Hartlett put forward his case for Power selection with his best afield efforts for Port, notching up 33 disposals and seven tackles. Travis Schiller was Centrals' standout with 26 disposals and six tackles.

FINAL SCORES IN ROUND 13 OF THE SANFL...

Friday July 2

Sturt 7.6 (48)
Norwood 3.7 (25)
Coopers Stadium, Norwood -- crowd number unknown

Saturday July 3
North Adelaide 13.15 (93)
West Adelaide 7.7 (49)
1,179 @ Hisense Stadium, Richmond

Glenelg 17.8 (110)
Adelaide 14.11 (95)
2,059 @ ACH Group Stadium, Glenelg

Woodville-West Torrens 13.3 (81)
South Adelaide 6.9 (45)
1,152 @ Flinders University Stadium, Noarlunga

Port Adelaide 9.3 (57)
Central District 6.12 (48)
1,687 @ X-Convenience Oval, Elizabeth


INJURIES
Sturt -- Burrows (concussion)
West -- Gore, Meline, Hill (hamstring)
Glenelg -- Durdin (hamstring)

REPORTS
Glenelg -- Snook, Proud, Agnew (melee)
Adelaide -- McAdam, Fogarty, Boyle (melee)


LEAGUE LADDER
-------------------------------------------
Glenelg -- 24pts (12-0-0), 58%
W-WT -- 16pts (8-4-0), 58.2%
South -- 14pts (7-5-0), 51.5%
Norwood -- 14pts (7-5-0), 50.5%
North -- 12pts (6-6-0), 56.6%

-------------------------------------------
Port -- 12pts (6-6-0), 46.8%
Sturt -- 10pts (5-7-0), 49.8%
Adelaide -- 8pts (4-8-0), 43.1%
Central -- 6pts (3-9-0), 44.5%
West -- 4pts (2-10-0), 40.8%
-------------------------------------------


Next weekend in Round 14...

Saturday July 10
Woodville-West Torrens vs. West Adelaide; Maughan Thiem Kia Oval, Woodville @ 2:10pm
North Adelaide vs. Central District; Prospect Oval @ 2:10pm
Sturt vs. Glenelg; Unley Oval @ 2:10pm
South Adelaide vs. Adelaide; Victor Harbor Oval @ 2:30pm
Port Adelaide vs. Norwood ; Alberton Oval @ 2:35pm


Also happening around the Panthers vs. Crows match at Victor Harbor is the men's and women's 2021 SA Country Football Championships, which resume this year after last year being cancelled due to Covid19. The games will be held at both the Victor Harbor and Encounter Bay Football Club grounds over the July 10-11 weekend. So anyone here at BigFooty in or around that area, get around it and enjoy the best footy that our country folks have to offer and catch some SANFL football at the same time.

So until next weekend... see you at the Footy!
 

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