SANFL 2023 -- Round 8 Wrap-Up

raboyle

Norm Smith Medallist
May 8, 2001
5,661
803
X Convenience Oval, Elizabeth
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
CDFC (SANFL), Port Melb (VFL)
Hi Footy fans...

What a weekend we just had. The weather was kind compared to last week, there were some close finishes and a little over 10000 SA footy-heads turned out to the five games on offer. There was some spectacular clashes, some ugly clashes as well and hearts broken as a result. If the league could attract that minimum every week, there would be no doubt left in anyone's mind that our competition is the standout in the land outside the AFL. We're just coming up to the half-way point of the season and the money is no doubt on the Blues and the Tigers to have a big say in September, with Adelaide still well in the five. The mid-table is interesting as well, with the Eagles welcoming back some forward power this week they may yet rise to challenge. The Dogs and the Roosters haven't been setting the league alight, but who knows what the coming weeks will bring? The likes of the Magpies, the Panthers and the Bloods have been quite underwhelming, though the latter of the three are just glad to not be on the foot of the table. Which brings us to the Redlegs. The defending champions are having one of the worst starts to a season in recent memory, their last abysmal finish being only 20 seasons ago back in 2004. They finished last with just four wins from their 20 games. There's obviously still time to avoid such a fate, but there's only 10 games to go.

Welcome to the Round 8 edition of the SANFL Wrap-Up.

There would be just two Saturday afternoon matches for the weekend, the first of which sends us up north to the X-Convenience Oval in Elizabeth where the Bulldogs took on the Redlegs. In both games last season, the Bulldogs did mount considerable challenges but didn't come away with the points in either. The Redlegs emerged victorious by 21 points in Round 7 at The Parade, then by a point at the Ponderosa in Round 17. The Bulldogs were down by just five points at the final change at Norwood, but not even the Redlegs' inaccuracy would stop them claiming the points, keeping the Dogs to one goal while kicking three of their own. A more tense encounter followed at Goodman Road, down by two goals at three quarter-time it was the Dogs' final term inaccuracy that robbed them of victory in the end. From last week's games, the Dogs were unlucky not to have nicked the result from the Tigers at home, but the Redlegs still have a nought in the win column thanks to the Crows. The Bulldogs' biggest issue has been their players' inability to back themselves in front of goal and it showed early as the Redlegs kicked to a surprise 10-point lead come quarter-time with the scoreboard reading 3.1 to 1.3. But then it was the Redlegs' who were having their own goal-scoring problems in the second term, adding just three behinds as the Dogs cut the gap back down to a point by the long break with their two goals. Let me tell you right now, this game was as ugly as they came. Both teams made some absolutely baffling skill errors, in fact, one local footy journo hit the nail on the head when he said that playing the Benny Hill theme music wouldn't have been too out of place for what was going on out on the field of play. Norwood looked to have turned a corner after the half-time break as they scored 2.1 after 11 minutes, but then the Dogs answered back and took the lead by the final change. They kicked 4.2 unanswered, overturning that deficit to their favour. At three quarter-time, it was the home side by 13 points. The visitors didn't give up the fight, but the final term was far from a spectacle with much of the aforementioned stuff-ups most present in this quarter. It would come down to one last kick, after the 'Legs held the Dogs to 1.2 and kicked 2.3 of their own it was a one-goal gap when a Redlegs mark just prior to the siren occured. The resulting kick missed the mark, Centrals victorious by just five points and continuing the premiership hangover. Harry Grant was named best for the Doggies, with 30 disposals, nine clearances and eight tackles. Norwood named Nik Rokahr as their best with 28 disposals, five marks and four tackles.

The other Saturday arvo outing takes us out to the seaside city of Glenelg and into Stratarama Stadium where the Tigers faced off with the Crows, a battle of second against third. The two games last season saw the points shared, with the Tigers winning the Round 3 game by 15 points and then the Crows hammering them in return by more than 12 goals in Round 13. Adelaide were seven kicks in front at half-time, so how did they drop this one? They would kick only three more goals after half-time, the Tigers booted 12. They didn't make the same mistake later, of course. When they took control, they remained in control -- 12 goals to two by half-time, 19 to eight by game's end. Both sides emerged victorious last weekend, with the Tigers managing to leave Elizabeth with a nine-point win, while the Crows shook off a slow start and inaccuracy to down the luckless premiers at The Parade by four goals. This was probably the game of the week, a little over 2500 coming down for the day and the rain staying away. The Crows' inaccuracy issues from last week hadn't totally been corrected as they kicked to a 14-point quarter-time lead, perhaps should have been at least two more goals to the good after scoring 4.4 to 2.2 to begin the afternoon's action. It was the Tigers' turn to have some accuracy problems in the second quarter, but did cut the gap back by a few points before going into the rooms at the long break. Glenelg scored 3.5 to Adelaide's 3.1, reducing the visitors' lead to 10 points come half-time. When play resumed, it wasn't until almost five minutes in that Adelaide kicked a goal to restore their earlier three-kick lead. But the Tigers would go on to own the bulk of the term and kick into an eight-point lead going into the final change after scoring 5.1 to the Crows' 2.1. The stage was well and truly set for a barnstorming final term and it didn't disappoint, especially if you're in the victorious camp of course. The Tigers blew a couple of early chances as the Crows worked their way back in front half-way through the term. Adelaide were nine points ahead three minutes prior to time on, having scored 3.1 to Glenelg's two minor scores. In the end, the Crows couldn't hoid the home side down long enough, managing just one behind in added time as the Tigers bracketed that minor score with two goals of their own to snatch victory by two points. Matt Snook was Glenelg's best afield with 26 disposals, 12 tackles and seven clearances. The Crows named Harry Schoenberg as their standout with 26 disposals, 11 tackles, seven clearances and a pair of goals.

The other matches would take place on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the first finding us heading to the inner northern suburbs and into the Prospect Oval for the SANFL "Civil War" between the Roosters and the Panthers. These sides traded victories from their two games last year, with the Roosters winning the Round 4 game at Prospect and the Southerners in Round 10 at Noarlunga. The Roosters broke away early in the game at Menzies Crescent, but perhaps should have had a bigger lead considering they held South to five behinds for the entire first half before they almost pulled off a heist. North won by 11 points, dodging a bullet after an inaccuracy-plagued final term. The later game was a battle and a half for the whole day, though just like the earlier game, South raced off to an early lead before almost bottling it with scoring problem late in the match. The Roosters were challenged hard by the Magpies last week but still came away with the win by eight points, while the blue & whites went down in a heart-breaker to the Blues at home by just two points. While the first quarter was quite evenly fought over, the Roosters accuracy would find them behind the eight-ball early on being on the wrong side of a four-point deficit with South kicking 3.1 to 2.3 to begin the day. The second term belonged to the Panthers, kicking four goals to one over 14 minutes. At the long break, South would be up by 20 points, having added overall 5.4 to the Roosters' three goals. The Panthers were well in charge in the middle, by game's end they would finish with 16 more hit-outs. North's back were doing quite a job themselves, but the conversion of rebound-50's were not being rewarded with goals at the other end. That was no more evident than in the third quarter as the Roosters peppered their attacking zone but only coming away with 1.5, though the Panthers efforts in the same period weren't any better with a return of 1.3. At the final change, the visitors were holding onto a three-goal advantage. The Roosters ran out of puff in the final term as the Panthers shut down their attackers bar one early miss and one late major. South added 2.4 to their tally to run out 27-point victors, finally arresting a five-game losing streak. South's best afield Keegan Brooksby was king in ruck with 22 hitouts as well as 15 disposals and six marks. The Roosters named Sam McInerney as their best on ground with 26 disposals and 12 marks.

From the inner northern suburbs to the inner southern fringes of the city we now go, to the tree-lined surrounds of Wigan Oval in Unley as the Double Blues hosted the Bloods. The Blues were not really troubled by the Bloods in their two outings last year, coming out easy victors in both with a 43-point win at Richmond in Round 1 and then a 40-point win in Round 13. The Blues sort of made it look hard in both games really, after bolting from the blocks in the 2022 season opener and lead by more than five goals at quarter-time, they still led by as much at the long break with an inaccurate second term. They kicked 12 goals from 27 scoring shots that day. It was sort of the same story at Unley later on in the year, just that the Bloods' accuracy went down the gurgler with a final score of 4.11. The Bloods' blues haven't improved that much other than not being on the bottom of the ladder, they went down to the Eagles by 56 points at Woodville while Sturt held on for grim death at Noarlunga to escape with a two-point win. The Bloods haven't won at Oxford Terrace for about a decade and so far the Blues had still yet to be defeated. So it was a shock to many that at quarter-time the Bloods were holding a 16-point lead, with the scoreboard reading 4.1 to the Blues' 1.3. The Bloods' engine room sputtered in the second quarter with a trio of missed chances to extend their advantage, however to their credit they did hold the Blues forwards to just 1.3 to go into the half-time break still ahead albeit by 10 points. West were certainly playing above themselves, several players in the squad being 20 or younger, so positive signs were on show. The Bloods had another good quarter of football in the third term, but the Blues were starting to catch up. Their accuracy on goal prevented them from taking the lead before the final change, scoring 4.5 to 4.1 as the gap was down to a single goal. It was unfortunate that the Bloods couldn't maintain the effort in the final term, the Blues finally overrunning the visitors in the end with their 2.4 to one goal, running out four-point victors. James Battersby continues to lead the way for the Blues as best afield, with 32 disposals and 12 clearances. For West, their standout was Michael Mattingly with 24 disposals, 10 tackles and nine marks.

The final game for the weekend would send us to the outer north-western suburbs and into the Alberton Oval, where the Magpies and the Eagles clashed in the Battle of the Birds. Both games went the way of the Eagles last season, with a six-goal win at Queen Street in Round 6 then a 10-goal hiding at Woodville in Round 14. The last game at Alberton saw the Magpies go to sleep for one quarter of footy and that is all the Eagles required. Five points down at half-time, they kept Port scoreless on their way to a 16-point lead at the last change and a four goal to two final term. The Magpies simply fell away in the second half at Oval Avenue, just three goals adrift at half-time before another horrid term saw the Eagles romp away to victory and the defeated back to their end of Port Road minus a few feathers. The Magpies were outdone in the second half by North last week to go down by eight points at Prospect, while the Eagles won the western derby against the Bloods by almost 10 goals at Milner Road. Port had a high-profile return to their line-up, Tom Jonas lining up for his first SANFL game for eight years down back. Now while this game was about as low scoring as the other two close finish games, this one sounded like the better of the three as a spectacle. Port fans were made to wait until near the end of the opening quarter for their first goal along with three missed chances, while at the other end the Eagles managed 2.1 to lead by four points at quarter-time. The Magpies fortunes in front of the sticks were not improved in the second term, kicking five behinds while the Eagles added another 2.4 to their score to take the gap out to 15 points at by half-time. The third term looked like a tug of war going by the scores, both sides unable to make any further real impact on the board other than a single point added to the visitors lead. The Eagles scored 1.3 to 1.2, the deficit now 16 points. The final term was a belter. The first seven minutes saw both teams kick two goals each along with a 'Pies minor score, then late in the term the Magpies strung four more majors together and even took the lead two minutes into time-on. But Port hearts would go home broken, one last shot on goal by the Eagles finding its mark from the 50 in the pocket as the visitors emerged victorious by three points. Riley Knight was the Eagles' best with 29 disposals and nine tackles, while the Magpies would vote in mid-season Power draftee Quinton Narkle as their best with 29 disposals, eight tackles and six clearances.

FINAL SCORES IN ROUND 8 OF THE SANFL...

Saturday June 3

Central District 8.8 (56)
Norwood 7.9 (51)
1,664 @ X-Convenience Oval, Elizabeth

Glenelg 12.10 (82)
Adelaide 12.8 (80)
2,503 @ Stratarama Stadium, Glenelg

Sunday June 4
South Adelaide 11.12 (78)
North Adelaide 7.9 (51)
1,691 @ Prospect Oval

Sturt 8.15 (63)
West Adelaide 9.5 (59)
2,619 @ Wigan Oval, Unley

Woodville-West Torrens 9.8 (62)
Port Adelaide 8.11 (59)
1,690 @ Alberton Oval


INJURIES
South -- Rose (hamstring), Sproule (calf)
W-WT -- Sinor ankle)
Port -- Jackson (head knock)

REPORTS
Central -- East (striking)
Glenelg -- McBean (rough conduct)
Adelaide -- Wright (rough conduct)
Sturt -- Coomblas (striking), Burrows (rough conduct)


LEAGUE LADDER
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Sturt -- 16pts (8-0-0), 57.5%
Glenelg -- 14pts (7-1-0), 57.9%
Adelaide -- 10pts (5-3-0), 60.6%
W-WT -- 8pts (4-4-0), 51.6%
Central -- 8pts (4-4-0), 49.2%

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North -- 8pts (4-4-0), 47.1%
Port -- 6pts (3-5-0), 46.2%
South -- 6pts (3-5-0), 44.9%
West -- 4pts (2-6-0), 45.4%
Norwood -- 0pts (0-8-0), 38.6%
-----------------------------------------------------


WOMEN'S DIVISION -- Bulldogs rampant on way to decider
The Central District women's side not only made their finals debut this season, but now they will play off in their first Grand Final this coming weekend after a dominant display against the Redlegs in their Preliminary Final at X-Convenience Oval in Elizabeth on Sunday. The first term began with the Dogs kicking the only scores of the opening term, to lead by 10 points at quarter-time before kicking a further 3.1 to the Redlegs' 1.1 in the second term to set up a 22-point half-time advantage. The Redlegs would not trouble the Bulldogs any further in the second half, outscored 4.1 to 1.1 in the third quarter. The end deficit would reach 40 points going into the final change, both sides added 1.2 in the final term to leave the gap unchanged in the end. For the Bulldogs, Jasmine Evans kicked three goals and took eight marks for her day, Elaine Grigg had the most tackles with eight to her name, while Shelby Smith was the ball magnet with 20 disposals. In the Redlegs camp, Tahlita Buethke had 21 disposals, Lana Schwerdt had 20 disposals and seven marks, while it was the finish line for Ali Ferrall who is hanging up the boots after six season and more than 50 games for Norwood. The Grand Final between South Adelaide and Central District will take place at Prospect Oval on Sunday from 2:15pm.

PRELIMINARY FINAL -- Central District 9.8 (62) def. 3.4 (22)


CROWEATER COLTS SHOCKED BY ALLIES IN NATIONAL SERIES KICK-OFF
South Australia has been dealt a shock in their opening match of the 2023 AFL U-18 National Championships, downed by the Allies at Thebarton Oval on Sunday. The combined north-eastern states and Tasmanian side pantsed the Croweaters in the first half, skipping off to a 26-point quarter-time lead after bagging 6.2 to SA's comparably measly two goals in the first quarter. Some inaccuracy for the Allies didn't stop them building their lead even further, they took their advantage out to 43 points going into the half-time break after kicking an additional 3.5 to a single SA goal. The Croweaters hit the ground running upon the resumption of play, but in the end it would be too little too late as the Allies already did the damage necessary and held firm against the SA onslaught. The gap was cut back down to the first change deficit of 26 points after they scored 4.1 to 1.2 in the third term, before reducing it down to 16 points in the finish with a 4.1 to 2.3 last quarter. Sid Draper was the true standout for the South Australians, with a team-high 23 disposals, six tackles and eight forward entries to his name. They'll need to ramp that up ahead of this coming Sunday when they front up again at Thebarton against Victoria Metro, before two away games to Victoria Country on June 18, then across the Nullabor to the Sandgropers on the 24th.

Allies 12.12 (84) def. South Australia 11.2 (68)


Next weekend in Round 9... can we get 10k at the Bay?

Saturday June 10
Woodville-West Torrens vs. Adelaide; Adelaide Oval @ 12:35pm
West Adelaide vs. North Adelaide; Hisense Stadium, Richmond @ 1:10pm
Port Adelaide vs. Central District; Alberton Oval @ 1:10pm

Monday June 12 @ 2:10pm
Glenelg vs. Sturt; Stratarama Stadium, Glenelg
South Adelaide vs. Norwood; Flinders University Stadium, Noarlunga

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