Round 17 SANFL Snapshot – Saturday

Sturt’s pursuit of a top-five berth remains alive after a comfortable 24-point win against Port Adelaide at Unley Oval.

Celebrating dual premiership defender Guy Page’s 150th game in style, the Double Blues set an ominous tone when inclusion Lachlan Burrows goaled inside the opening 18 seconds of the game.

The hosts’ soon had nine of the first 10 goals on the board by the time Anzac Lochowiak kicked his third 14 minutes into the second stanza.

Port – buoyed by the inclusions of Sam Powell-Pepper and Steven Motlop – battled hard to close the gap by outscoring Sturt in the second half but the damage was too severe to recover from.

Coming off a Powerade Breakthrough Player nomination, Lochowiak finished with four majors while Daniel Fahey-Sparks stepped up in the ruck in the absence of injured Josh Patullo.

Fahey-Sparks had 20 disposals and 10 marks while also helping feed captain James Battersby (25 disposals), Casey Voss (24 disposals) and Tom Lewis (20 disposals).

A surprise omission from the Power, Powell-Pepper responded strongly with 30 disposals, six tackles, nine clearances and a snap goal from the boundary featured in the clip below.

Defender Jarrod Lienert had 33 disposals, six marks and a goal while Motlop tallied 20 disposals and four marks in his return from an ankle injury.

North Adelaide went a long way toward sewing up a top-three berth when it overran South Adelaide by 58 points in a powerful display at Flinders University Stadium.

In piling on 10.5 to the Panthers’ 2.3 after half-time, the Roosters earned an edge of two premiership points and 7.5 percent on their Round 17 rivals.

The hosts got within a point entering time-on of the second quarter but Jacob Surjan’s charges sent an ominous message to the rest of the competition when they slammed on nine of the next ten majors.

Magarey Medallist Campbell Combe was superb through the midfield to rack up 35 disposals and 16 tackles as he was named the Coles Value Player of the game.

Aaron Young had a huge impact with four goals and 20 disposals while Billy Hartung encouraged with 24 possessions in his League return from a hamstring strain.

Captain Alex Spina was important in the early stage of the game across half-back before finishing with 24 disposals while Harrison Wigg had 25 touches and a goal for the visitors.

South defender Joe Haines tried his heart out with 40 disposals and seven marks while Bryce Gibbs had 33 disposals, 10 tackles, six clearances and two goals for the home side but it wasn’t enough.

AAMI Rookie Arlo Draper kicked a nice goal amid North’s third term blitz before registering 11 disposals, five marks and five tackles.

Glenelg’s Liam McBean all but secured the 2021 Ken Farmer Medal as his seven-goal haul propelled his side to a 54-point win against Central District at ACH Group Stadium.

Having claimed SANFL’s leading goal kicker award in the past two seasons, McBean now boasts a 17-goal lead on second-placed Lewis Hender with two rounds to play.

The former Richmond spearhead was incredibly accurate with his set shots, finishing with just one miss for the afternoon as he nailed his seventh after the final siren.

Glenelg led at every change against the Bulldogs, opening up a comfortable 47-point lead at half-time as Marlon Motlop was back to his classy best with four majors.

Even with Magarey Medallist Luke Partington sidelined by a minor hamstring complaint in the second term, Tiger midfielders Brett Turner (26 disposals and a goal) and Matt Allen (25 disposals and two goals) found plenty of the ball while hitting the scoreboard.

Co-captain Chris Curran made a seamless return from a lower leg injury to have 26 disposals and nine marks while Matthew Snook had 22 disposals.

Central’s Kyle Presbury again led his side statistically with 28 possessions and seven clearances while Harry Grant impressed with 24 disposals and two goals.

Bulldogs co-captains Jarrod Schiller (24 disposals and a goal) and Luke Habel (18 disposals and a goal) also battled hard for the visitors.