- May 8, 2001
- 5,667
- 818
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
- Other Teams
- CDFC (SANFL), Port Melb (VFL)
Hi Footy fans...
Finally after six months, the preparations and pre-season training, the comings and goings... last Friday we were underway as the 2022 SANFL Hostplus Premiership Season kicked off. While the action was somewhat overshadowed by the much anticipated Showdown, thankfully the bulk of the round would take place after that fact. The mini-Showdown would mark the official start of the season on the Friday afternoon, but the other eight sides would take up the entire Saturday from 1pm all the way to 10pm, from Noarlunga to Richmond. We would see a bit of history made with the first twilight match for premiership points at the Eagles' nest, as well as a nod to the past at the Wolves' den and a thrilling finish down south. At the moment, you could say after the results posted this past weekend, we are in for a bumper season. We just have to hope now that the pesky intruder of the last two years of our lives doesn't stuff anything up!
Welcome to the first edition of the SANFL Wrap-Up for 2022... Round 1!
We begin our 2022 journey with a stop at football headquarters, the Adelaide Oval. Kicking off the season under lights in a twilight setting on Friday is the mini-Showdown between the Crows and the Magpies, the precursor to Showdown 51. These sides shared the points from their two encounters in 2021, with the Magpies winning the Round 6 game by 14 points, followed by the Crows taking out the Round 16 contest by 13 points. On both occasions, the eventual loser made mini comebacks at some stage of the game only to have the chocolates snatched away. The latter match was one of the nails in Port's coffin for last season, finishing seventh with the Crows right beneath them. Both sides peppered their goals to begin the afternoon's proceedings, only Adelaide had the better accuracy. The Magpies wasted a trio of opportunities in as many minutes at the other end, at quarter-time the scoreboard would have the Crows in front by 11 points after scoring 3.4 to 1.5. Adelaide began to put some distance between themselves and the 'Pies in the second quarter and would go into the rooms with a four-goal advantage at the long break after adding 5.3 to Port's 3.2. There would have been a raft of players looking to please their senior masters in both camps and while the Crows' crop was excelling, Port's demoted players were perhaps justifying their drop to the seconds. When play resumed, it took around eight minutes for a goal to come and it was Port with the first couple to bring the gap back to something more do-able. But Adelaide were back on the right foot not long after and by three quarter-time, the deficit was out to 37 points after the Crows scored 4.3 to the Magpies' 2.2. Adelaide had saved the best for last though, punishing their rivals with a 6.5 to 2.4 final term to post a record 62-point hammering. Leading from the front was Matt Wright who took best afield honours for Adelaide with his five goals, while Jase Burgoyne was best for Port with 22 disposals and six marks.
Now we're out to the suburbs with four more games throughout Saturday, the first takes us down to the southern suburbs to the Flinders University Stadium in Noarlunga. The Mayor's Cup was up for grabs in the SANFL's "Distance Derby" between the Panthers and the Bulldogs. South were victorious in both matches last season, with a 27-point win at home in Round 8 followed by a 52-point hiding at the Ponderosa. The Panthers have not dropped a game against the Dogs for a few years now, it was back in Round 12 of 2018 that Centrals last had possession of the trophy fought for between the two clubs. Before that, it was the final round of 2015 when the Bulldogs last won at Noarlunga and that cost the Panthers a spot in the Elimination Final of that year. The two sides would have to do without their senior coaches with both in close contact isolation. The Panthers were all over the Dogs in the opening term, but didn't fully capitalise on the board. A late goal from Centrals kept them within strike as the quarter-time board would have South up by 13 points at the first change, reading 3.2 to 1.1. Some collective groans from the scattered Bulldogs fans could be heard early in the second term, three goals in the opening five minutes putting them just over five goals up. But despite some inaccuracy, the Dogs clawed back South's lead to a more manageable four straight kicks going into the sheds at half-time. The Panthers scored 6.1 to 4.4, a lead of 22 points at the long break. The Panther machine sputtered a little when play got back underway and Centrals would reel their lead back even more by the final change. Their pressure on body and ball was significantly upped as they chipped away at South's lead, restricting the home side to 1.2 whilst booting four goals without a miss. At three quarter-time, it was down to a six-point gap for the blue and whites. The Dogs continued to come at the Panthers in the final term, controlling much of the play right up into time-on and even kicking into the lead. But Souths would re-take the lead within a couple of minutes and with some panicked kicking from the Dogs, would hold on for a thrilling finish. The Panthers' 3.2 to Centrals' 3.3 enough to win by five points. Mitchell O'Neill was named best for South with 33 disposals and seven marks, while the Bulldogs named Travis Schiller with his 30 disposals and seven marks.
Game number three would kick off about an hour after the Noarlunga match, we now head up north on the A15 and onto Brighton Road as far as the ACH Group Stadium in Glenelg where the Tigers hosted the Redlegs. The Tigers would take out both matches from their 2021 encounters with Norwood, but were made to work for it on both occasions. More embarrassingly for the Redlegs, they had full opportunity to end Glenelg's winning streak after just completely blowing chance after chance. It began in Round 9 at The Parade, they led by seven goals at half-time only to lose by a point after scoring just 1.4 in the entire second half. Then in Round 16 at the Bay, the 'Legs seemed punch-drunk in front of goal to kick 8.17 for the whole match, the Tigers kicked seven goals in the final term to turn a 13-point deficit into a 10-point win. The Tigers hit the board after two minutes elapsed, which was then followed by a mess of behinds for both sides. The Redlegs' mid-first term dominance in possession didn't translate on the board, kicking five straight behinds for the quarter. The Tigers would have 2.4 on the board to lead by 11 points at quarter-time. The 'Legs had another period of possession football in the second term, but were still unable to kick into the lead. They ended up playing catch-up after the Tigers kicked to a lead just short of four straight kicks on the cusp of time-on, all-up Norwood scored 3.3 to the Bays' 3.2 to nick a point from the home sides' earlier advantage. This was almost becoming like a replay of last year's encounter at Tiger-land, a swag of misses chances and a door left well open. The Tigers would return to the field with a bit more spark in the third quarter. They would kick 5.3 -- three in succession over six minutes -- to the visitors' 2.1 as they opened up a five-goal advantage going into the final term. The Redlegs' comeback in the final term was another quarter of skewed shots on goal, eventually going down by 15 points after outscoring Glenelg 3.4 to 1.1. Brett Turner was a machine, named best for the Tigers with 27 disposals, eight marks and 11 tackles. Declan Hamilton was Norwood's ball magnet, racking up 36 disposals and six marks.
The fourth game for the Saturday afternoon would be a twilight match, the first ever for premiership points under the new lights of Maughan Thiem Kia Oval in Woodville as the Eagles and the Roosters renewed hostilities. This has become one of the new intense rivalries of the league, ever since that Preliminary Final five years ago. Last season, these two sides traded blows in a pair of tense encounters. In Round 16 at Prospect, the Roosters practically strangled the Eagles' forward line in the second half, keeping them to just two goals while they scored six to win by 18 points. However at Woodville earlier that season, it was one that just slipped through North's feathers. In this all-out arm wrestle, the second half goals were at a premium and despite the Eagles' inaccuracy they would come away with the win by three points. Greeting North on their run onto the ground would be the sight of the Eagles' 2021 premiership flag, a reminder of their 2020 defeat at their hands. The opening term was a tale of two halves, the first had the goals whereas the other did not. The Roosters would kick to a 16-point lead at the first change, kicking three of the first four goals during the first 12 minutes and then fluffing a swag of chances in for the time remaining with the board reading 3.6 to 1.2. The defending premiers would then cut that gap in half by the half-time siren, scoring 3.3 to 2.1 to bring the Roosters back to an eight-point lead at the break. They could have been a single kick down if not for that one goal, which came deep into added time. That last minute goal by North would be the beginning of a further run of unanswered goals in the following period, they hit the ground running upon resumption of play to add another six before the Eagles could score one themselves. At 15 minutes, the Roosters were up by just over seven goals. But that was cut back to 29 points by three quarter-time, the Eagles having scored just 2.3 in that time. Not the ideal platform to launch your title defence on, the visitors held firm against the Eagles attempt at a comeback. The Eagles scored 3.4 which would not be enough against North's 2.2 as the home side went down by 22 points. Both best on ground nominees kicked six goals each, for North it was Keenan Ramsey and the Eagles named Daniel Menzel.
The final game for Saturday would be under the night sky and bright lights of the Hisense Stadium in Richmond as the Bloods faced the Double Blues. The Blues were the cause of a lot of pain for the Bloods last season. In Round 3 at Unley, not even a horrible shooting streak would stop the Blues winning by 50 points in a game where they kicked 12 goals from 33 scoring shots. But the worst was yet to come right in Westies' own backyard in Round 16. The Blues all but buried the Bloods in the Richmond turf with an 80-point hammering, made even worse by the fact that West didn't register a single goal. They scored a mere six behinds in one of their most dismal performances in recent memory. With a 130th anniversary season and the team running out in a throwback guernsey, it was hoped that West could begin the climb early, especially with the return of one of the favourite sons to help steer the ship. By quarter-time, that ship had already sailed. The Blues owned the opening term to skip off to a 31-point quarter-time lead, scoring 6.2 to 1.1 to begin the night's proceedings. Both sides wasted a raft of shots on goal in the second term, the Blues adding a few more points to their advantage. They scored 1.7 to 1.4 to stretch their lead to 34 points going into the rooms at the long break. The Bloods fans were probably already feeling like another nightmare season is upon them and given their seasons since that 2015 premiership, it would take a mammoth recruiting drive to bring them from the depths. All I can say, of course, is that it is still early days. The third term was a bit brighter for the Bloods, they pestered the Blues quite well in this period but were let down by some more poor shooting on goal as they cut the Blues lead down by a goal to 28 points by the three quarter-time siren. Two quick-fire goals within three minutes of the restart in the final term gave the Bloods' faithful some hope and actually kept Sturt away from their goals for a good 15 minutes. But then a run of four goals, finished with three behinds later on, would put the result beyond doubt as the visitors left Richmond with a 43-point win. Casey Voss was the Blues standout with 31 disposals and 17 marks, while the Bloods voted in Lachlan Squire as their best with 22 disposals, three goals and 10 marks.
FINAL SCORES IN ROUND 1 OF THE SANFL...
Friday April 1
Adelaide 18.15 (123)
Port Adelaide 8.13 (61)
Adelaide Oval -- AFL curtain raiser
Saturday April 2
South Adelaide 13.7 (85)
Central District 12.8 (80)
1,288 @ Flinders University Stadium, Noarlunga
Glenelg 11.10 (76)
Norwood 8.13 (61)
2,674 @ ACH Group Stadium, Glenelg
North Adelaide 13.10 (88)
Woodville-West Torrens 9.12 (66)
2,046 @ Maughan Thiem Kia Oval, Woodville
Sturt 12.15 (87)
West Adelaide 6.8 (44)
Hisense Stadium, Richmond -- crowd number unknown
INJURIES
North -- Craig (ankle)
W-WT -- Duval (leg)
REPORTS
Adelaide -- Murray (rough conduct)
LEAGUE LADDER
-------------------------------------------------------
Adelaide - 2pts (1-0-0), 66.8%
Sturt -- 2pts (1-0-0), 66.4%
North -- 2pts (1-0-0), 57.1%
Glenelg -- 2pts (1-0-0), 55.5%
South -- 2pts (1-0-0), 51.5%
-------------------------------------------------------
Central -- 0pts (0-1-0), 48.5%
Norwood -- 0pts (0-1-0), 44.5%
W-WT -- 0pts (0-1-0), 42.9%
West -- 0pts (0-1-0), 33.6%
Port -- 0pts (0-1-0), 33.1%
-------------------------------------------------------
Next weekend in Round 2...
Friday April 8 @ 7:40pm
Norwood vs. Woodville-West Torrens; Coopers Stadium, Norwood
Saturday April 9 @ 2:10pm
Central District vs. West Adelaide; X-Convenience Oval, Elizabeth
North Adelaide vs. Adelaide; Prospect Oval
Port Adelaide vs. South Adelaide; Alberton Oval
Sturt vs. Glenelg; Wigan Oval, Unley
So until next weekend... see you at the Footy!
Finally after six months, the preparations and pre-season training, the comings and goings... last Friday we were underway as the 2022 SANFL Hostplus Premiership Season kicked off. While the action was somewhat overshadowed by the much anticipated Showdown, thankfully the bulk of the round would take place after that fact. The mini-Showdown would mark the official start of the season on the Friday afternoon, but the other eight sides would take up the entire Saturday from 1pm all the way to 10pm, from Noarlunga to Richmond. We would see a bit of history made with the first twilight match for premiership points at the Eagles' nest, as well as a nod to the past at the Wolves' den and a thrilling finish down south. At the moment, you could say after the results posted this past weekend, we are in for a bumper season. We just have to hope now that the pesky intruder of the last two years of our lives doesn't stuff anything up!
Welcome to the first edition of the SANFL Wrap-Up for 2022... Round 1!
We begin our 2022 journey with a stop at football headquarters, the Adelaide Oval. Kicking off the season under lights in a twilight setting on Friday is the mini-Showdown between the Crows and the Magpies, the precursor to Showdown 51. These sides shared the points from their two encounters in 2021, with the Magpies winning the Round 6 game by 14 points, followed by the Crows taking out the Round 16 contest by 13 points. On both occasions, the eventual loser made mini comebacks at some stage of the game only to have the chocolates snatched away. The latter match was one of the nails in Port's coffin for last season, finishing seventh with the Crows right beneath them. Both sides peppered their goals to begin the afternoon's proceedings, only Adelaide had the better accuracy. The Magpies wasted a trio of opportunities in as many minutes at the other end, at quarter-time the scoreboard would have the Crows in front by 11 points after scoring 3.4 to 1.5. Adelaide began to put some distance between themselves and the 'Pies in the second quarter and would go into the rooms with a four-goal advantage at the long break after adding 5.3 to Port's 3.2. There would have been a raft of players looking to please their senior masters in both camps and while the Crows' crop was excelling, Port's demoted players were perhaps justifying their drop to the seconds. When play resumed, it took around eight minutes for a goal to come and it was Port with the first couple to bring the gap back to something more do-able. But Adelaide were back on the right foot not long after and by three quarter-time, the deficit was out to 37 points after the Crows scored 4.3 to the Magpies' 2.2. Adelaide had saved the best for last though, punishing their rivals with a 6.5 to 2.4 final term to post a record 62-point hammering. Leading from the front was Matt Wright who took best afield honours for Adelaide with his five goals, while Jase Burgoyne was best for Port with 22 disposals and six marks.
Now we're out to the suburbs with four more games throughout Saturday, the first takes us down to the southern suburbs to the Flinders University Stadium in Noarlunga. The Mayor's Cup was up for grabs in the SANFL's "Distance Derby" between the Panthers and the Bulldogs. South were victorious in both matches last season, with a 27-point win at home in Round 8 followed by a 52-point hiding at the Ponderosa. The Panthers have not dropped a game against the Dogs for a few years now, it was back in Round 12 of 2018 that Centrals last had possession of the trophy fought for between the two clubs. Before that, it was the final round of 2015 when the Bulldogs last won at Noarlunga and that cost the Panthers a spot in the Elimination Final of that year. The two sides would have to do without their senior coaches with both in close contact isolation. The Panthers were all over the Dogs in the opening term, but didn't fully capitalise on the board. A late goal from Centrals kept them within strike as the quarter-time board would have South up by 13 points at the first change, reading 3.2 to 1.1. Some collective groans from the scattered Bulldogs fans could be heard early in the second term, three goals in the opening five minutes putting them just over five goals up. But despite some inaccuracy, the Dogs clawed back South's lead to a more manageable four straight kicks going into the sheds at half-time. The Panthers scored 6.1 to 4.4, a lead of 22 points at the long break. The Panther machine sputtered a little when play got back underway and Centrals would reel their lead back even more by the final change. Their pressure on body and ball was significantly upped as they chipped away at South's lead, restricting the home side to 1.2 whilst booting four goals without a miss. At three quarter-time, it was down to a six-point gap for the blue and whites. The Dogs continued to come at the Panthers in the final term, controlling much of the play right up into time-on and even kicking into the lead. But Souths would re-take the lead within a couple of minutes and with some panicked kicking from the Dogs, would hold on for a thrilling finish. The Panthers' 3.2 to Centrals' 3.3 enough to win by five points. Mitchell O'Neill was named best for South with 33 disposals and seven marks, while the Bulldogs named Travis Schiller with his 30 disposals and seven marks.
Game number three would kick off about an hour after the Noarlunga match, we now head up north on the A15 and onto Brighton Road as far as the ACH Group Stadium in Glenelg where the Tigers hosted the Redlegs. The Tigers would take out both matches from their 2021 encounters with Norwood, but were made to work for it on both occasions. More embarrassingly for the Redlegs, they had full opportunity to end Glenelg's winning streak after just completely blowing chance after chance. It began in Round 9 at The Parade, they led by seven goals at half-time only to lose by a point after scoring just 1.4 in the entire second half. Then in Round 16 at the Bay, the 'Legs seemed punch-drunk in front of goal to kick 8.17 for the whole match, the Tigers kicked seven goals in the final term to turn a 13-point deficit into a 10-point win. The Tigers hit the board after two minutes elapsed, which was then followed by a mess of behinds for both sides. The Redlegs' mid-first term dominance in possession didn't translate on the board, kicking five straight behinds for the quarter. The Tigers would have 2.4 on the board to lead by 11 points at quarter-time. The 'Legs had another period of possession football in the second term, but were still unable to kick into the lead. They ended up playing catch-up after the Tigers kicked to a lead just short of four straight kicks on the cusp of time-on, all-up Norwood scored 3.3 to the Bays' 3.2 to nick a point from the home sides' earlier advantage. This was almost becoming like a replay of last year's encounter at Tiger-land, a swag of misses chances and a door left well open. The Tigers would return to the field with a bit more spark in the third quarter. They would kick 5.3 -- three in succession over six minutes -- to the visitors' 2.1 as they opened up a five-goal advantage going into the final term. The Redlegs' comeback in the final term was another quarter of skewed shots on goal, eventually going down by 15 points after outscoring Glenelg 3.4 to 1.1. Brett Turner was a machine, named best for the Tigers with 27 disposals, eight marks and 11 tackles. Declan Hamilton was Norwood's ball magnet, racking up 36 disposals and six marks.
The fourth game for the Saturday afternoon would be a twilight match, the first ever for premiership points under the new lights of Maughan Thiem Kia Oval in Woodville as the Eagles and the Roosters renewed hostilities. This has become one of the new intense rivalries of the league, ever since that Preliminary Final five years ago. Last season, these two sides traded blows in a pair of tense encounters. In Round 16 at Prospect, the Roosters practically strangled the Eagles' forward line in the second half, keeping them to just two goals while they scored six to win by 18 points. However at Woodville earlier that season, it was one that just slipped through North's feathers. In this all-out arm wrestle, the second half goals were at a premium and despite the Eagles' inaccuracy they would come away with the win by three points. Greeting North on their run onto the ground would be the sight of the Eagles' 2021 premiership flag, a reminder of their 2020 defeat at their hands. The opening term was a tale of two halves, the first had the goals whereas the other did not. The Roosters would kick to a 16-point lead at the first change, kicking three of the first four goals during the first 12 minutes and then fluffing a swag of chances in for the time remaining with the board reading 3.6 to 1.2. The defending premiers would then cut that gap in half by the half-time siren, scoring 3.3 to 2.1 to bring the Roosters back to an eight-point lead at the break. They could have been a single kick down if not for that one goal, which came deep into added time. That last minute goal by North would be the beginning of a further run of unanswered goals in the following period, they hit the ground running upon resumption of play to add another six before the Eagles could score one themselves. At 15 minutes, the Roosters were up by just over seven goals. But that was cut back to 29 points by three quarter-time, the Eagles having scored just 2.3 in that time. Not the ideal platform to launch your title defence on, the visitors held firm against the Eagles attempt at a comeback. The Eagles scored 3.4 which would not be enough against North's 2.2 as the home side went down by 22 points. Both best on ground nominees kicked six goals each, for North it was Keenan Ramsey and the Eagles named Daniel Menzel.
The final game for Saturday would be under the night sky and bright lights of the Hisense Stadium in Richmond as the Bloods faced the Double Blues. The Blues were the cause of a lot of pain for the Bloods last season. In Round 3 at Unley, not even a horrible shooting streak would stop the Blues winning by 50 points in a game where they kicked 12 goals from 33 scoring shots. But the worst was yet to come right in Westies' own backyard in Round 16. The Blues all but buried the Bloods in the Richmond turf with an 80-point hammering, made even worse by the fact that West didn't register a single goal. They scored a mere six behinds in one of their most dismal performances in recent memory. With a 130th anniversary season and the team running out in a throwback guernsey, it was hoped that West could begin the climb early, especially with the return of one of the favourite sons to help steer the ship. By quarter-time, that ship had already sailed. The Blues owned the opening term to skip off to a 31-point quarter-time lead, scoring 6.2 to 1.1 to begin the night's proceedings. Both sides wasted a raft of shots on goal in the second term, the Blues adding a few more points to their advantage. They scored 1.7 to 1.4 to stretch their lead to 34 points going into the rooms at the long break. The Bloods fans were probably already feeling like another nightmare season is upon them and given their seasons since that 2015 premiership, it would take a mammoth recruiting drive to bring them from the depths. All I can say, of course, is that it is still early days. The third term was a bit brighter for the Bloods, they pestered the Blues quite well in this period but were let down by some more poor shooting on goal as they cut the Blues lead down by a goal to 28 points by the three quarter-time siren. Two quick-fire goals within three minutes of the restart in the final term gave the Bloods' faithful some hope and actually kept Sturt away from their goals for a good 15 minutes. But then a run of four goals, finished with three behinds later on, would put the result beyond doubt as the visitors left Richmond with a 43-point win. Casey Voss was the Blues standout with 31 disposals and 17 marks, while the Bloods voted in Lachlan Squire as their best with 22 disposals, three goals and 10 marks.
FINAL SCORES IN ROUND 1 OF THE SANFL...
Friday April 1
Adelaide 18.15 (123)
Port Adelaide 8.13 (61)
Adelaide Oval -- AFL curtain raiser
Saturday April 2
South Adelaide 13.7 (85)
Central District 12.8 (80)
1,288 @ Flinders University Stadium, Noarlunga
Glenelg 11.10 (76)
Norwood 8.13 (61)
2,674 @ ACH Group Stadium, Glenelg
North Adelaide 13.10 (88)
Woodville-West Torrens 9.12 (66)
2,046 @ Maughan Thiem Kia Oval, Woodville
Sturt 12.15 (87)
West Adelaide 6.8 (44)
Hisense Stadium, Richmond -- crowd number unknown
INJURIES
North -- Craig (ankle)
W-WT -- Duval (leg)
REPORTS
Adelaide -- Murray (rough conduct)
LEAGUE LADDER
-------------------------------------------------------
Adelaide - 2pts (1-0-0), 66.8%
Sturt -- 2pts (1-0-0), 66.4%
North -- 2pts (1-0-0), 57.1%
Glenelg -- 2pts (1-0-0), 55.5%
South -- 2pts (1-0-0), 51.5%
-------------------------------------------------------
Central -- 0pts (0-1-0), 48.5%
Norwood -- 0pts (0-1-0), 44.5%
W-WT -- 0pts (0-1-0), 42.9%
West -- 0pts (0-1-0), 33.6%
Port -- 0pts (0-1-0), 33.1%
-------------------------------------------------------
Next weekend in Round 2...
Friday April 8 @ 7:40pm
Norwood vs. Woodville-West Torrens; Coopers Stadium, Norwood
Saturday April 9 @ 2:10pm
Central District vs. West Adelaide; X-Convenience Oval, Elizabeth
North Adelaide vs. Adelaide; Prospect Oval
Port Adelaide vs. South Adelaide; Alberton Oval
Sturt vs. Glenelg; Wigan Oval, Unley
So until next weekend... see you at the Footy!
