Round 19 Hostplus SANFL Snapshot – Saturday

It wasn’t pretty but Sturt’s 14-point win against Adelaide at Thomas Farms Oval was enough to give it a decent tune up ahead of the major round.

Leading at every change, the Double Blues’ inaccuracy in front of goal prevented them from making the most of a 52-39 inside 50m advantage.

Marty Mattner’s men maintained their penchant for retaining possession with 40 more marks than their opponents as they finished with a wasteful 7.18 (60).

Placing in second at the end of the minor round, Sturt was led by unheralded Joel Thiele, who earned the Coles Value Player of the Year Award with 23 disposals, seven marks and a goal.

It was a positive sign as Magarey Medal favourite Will Snelling had a ‘’quieter’’ game with 18 disposals while captain James Battersby also collected 23 touches.

Sturt’s Josh Hone was his team’s only multiple goal kicker with two, to go with 18 disposals and nine marks.

Adelaide, chasing fifth spot on the ladder, ended up falling short by 2.3 per cent with their loss to the Double Blues consigning it to sixth place.

Will Hamill collected a game-high 25 possessions while Ned McHenry had 19 as Josh Rachele tallied 17 disposals and six clearances in his second Hostplus SANFL League game after being sent back from AFL duty.

Norwood stormed to its first minor premiership since 2018 with a statement-making 75-point win against Woodville-West Torrens at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval.

Eagles defender Josh Morris kicked truly to have his team trailing by just three points 14 minutes into the second term.

But this sparked a deluge of goals from the Redlegs, who kicked the next 14 majors in succession to lead by as much as 87 points late in the final quarter.

The Eagles kicked the final two goals of the contest but were simply overwhelmed by the slick visitors, who now earn direct entry to the Second Semi-Final and a valuable rest next Sunday.

Norwood midfielders Billy Cootee (31 disposals, one goal), Mitch O’Neill (28 disposals, one goal) and Baynen Lowe (26 disposals, three goals) did as they pleased as defender Jack Heard was also prominent with 23 touches and seven marks.

Key forward Tristan Binder continues to make his case for September action, booting five goals from 13 disposals and 11 marks, while Goy Lok, Sam Morris and captain Jacob Kennerley chimed in with a pair each.

The Eagles, finishing in fifth place, will need to turn their form around sharply in next Sunday’s Elimination Final against Glenelg.

Zane Williams (21 disposals, one goal), captain Joey Sinor (20 disposals) and Luke McKay provided some resistance for the hosts as Jack Wheare booted two goals.

North Adelaide celebrated its first Ken Farmer Medallist in 22 years when it accounted for West Adelaide by 17 points at Prospect Oval.

Leading at every change, the sharp-shooting Roosters enjoyed the party as premiership forward Mitch Harvey kicked three majors to claim SANFL’s coveted leading goal kicker trophy, awarded at the end of the minor round.

Harvey, who tallied 45 goals for the season, finished three in front of Central’s Aiden Grace, who booted four against Port Adelaide.

Fittingly, Harvey was given a rousing reception by the Prospect faithful after they had watched their side earn their eighth win of the year.

Finishing seventh on the ladder, with the same 8-10 win-loss record as the fifth-placed Eagles and sixth-placed Crows, North’s efficiency was illustrated by it having 11 fewer inside 50s than the Bloods.

Sam Ramsay finished his first campaign in the red and white on a high with 36 disposals, 11 marks and 12 clearances while Hughen Wissman (23 disposals, 10 tackles) and Ewan Mackinlay (21 disposals, one goal) also played their part in victory.

Frank Szekely booted a game-high four goals for the hosts while Noah Casalini and Sam McInerney kicked two each for North.

Ending the season in eighth with a 5-13 win-loss record, West midfielders Kobe Ryan (27 disposals, six clearances) and Sam Frost (25 disposals, nine tackles) again worked tirelessly.

Bigman Riley Corbett posted a breakout performance for the Bloods with 26 disposals, 16 hit outs, 10 marks and a goal while Dylan McCormick booted three majors for the visitors.

Central District secured a vital double chance in September with a convincing 68-point victory against Port Adelaide at X Convenience Oval.

Handing the Magpies their first wooden spoon since 1900, the Bulldogs tuned up for their Qualifying Final against Sturt in fine fashion as they piled on 6.0 to 0.1 during a defining second stanza.

The hosts only may have had just nine hit outs for the afternoon but still managed to translate this into a 59-29 inside 50 advantage and 31-26 clearance lead.

Central kept Port without a goal for the second and third quarters as rebounding defenders Jez McLennan (26 disposals, 11 marks) and Rhett Montgomerie (24 disposals, eight marks) read the play nicely.

Co-captains Jarrod Schiller (21 disposals, two goals) and Kyle Presbury (20 disposals) had a positive influence on the outcome for the Bulldogs but there will be concern for Magarey Medallist Harry Grant, who left the field during the third term after a heavy knock.

Aiden Grace kicked a game-high four goals for Central but fell three majors short of sharing the Ken Farmer Medal with North Adelaide’s Mitch Harvey.

Beau Thomas booted three goals while Luca Whitelum chimed in with two for the Dogs.

Port’s Quinton Narkle put his hand up for an AFL finals berth with 32 disposals, seven marks, seven clearances, seven tackles and two goals.

Will Lorenz continued his encouraging first year of senior footy with 26 disposals, eight clearances and a goal while Port defender Tom Clurey had 19 disposals.

Glenelg took out its frustration on South Adelaide as it romped to a massive 118-point triumph at Stratarama Stadium.

Succumbing to Central by a point last round, the Bays were ruthless in every department as they built valuable form heading into next Sunday’s Elimination Final against the Eagles.

Recording a massive 78 inside 50 entries to South’s 33, the Tigers also had 12 more clearances and 63 more marks while piling on 21.22 from their 43 scoring shots.

Finishing the minor round in fourth place, Glenelg received dominant performances from experienced midfield quartet Corey Lyons (32 disposals, two goals), Matt Allen (30 disposals, 14 marks), Chris Curran (28 disposals, 12 marks) and James Bell (27 disposals, two goals).

Bays captain Liam McBean was also too difficult for the Panthers to quell booting 5.4 from 23 disposals and 11 marks while Riley Holder continues to grow in stature with 22 disposals, 10 marks and three goals.

South’s Oliver Davis finished his season strongly with 26 disposals, together with Jonti Schuback while Kobe Mutch tallied 25 possessions.

Panthers bigman Damon Freitag kicked two goals as his team avoided the wooden spoon by placing ninth at the end of the minor round.