Round 6 SANFL U18 Match Wraps

By ZAC MILBANK

Inaccuracy in front of goal was unable to prevent Woodville-West Torrens from securing its fourth SANFL U18s victory, holding off South Adelaide by 14 points at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval.

Boasting a comfortable 30-point lead at the final change, the Eagles – tallying 11.16 (82) – had their advantage whittled away by the Panthers in the final term after conceding five goals.

But the performances of the ever-consistent Jack Cook (27 disposals, six clearances), Jamie Russell (19 disposals, two goals) and Lachlan Sands (21 disposals, two goals) were enough to get the hosts’ across the line.

Panthers’ pair Kody Shortridge and Ben Dittmar were responsible for applying scoreboard pressure with two goals each while athletic South defender Elliott Duffield was also praised for his 18 disposals, seven marks and a goal.

Sturt overwhelmed West Adelaide with a match-winning second half surge to record a 35-point win against West Adelaide at Hisense Stadium.

The Double Blues had their nose in front by just two points at half-time but then piled on 8.4 to 3.1 to maintain their place at the top of the SANFL U18 ladder.

Richmond father-son prospect Louis Kellaway racked up a match-high 31 disposals, five clearances and a goal while captain Noah Roberts-Thomson (31 disposals, eight clearances) and Kale Matthews-Hampton (28 disposals, 18 marks) were also noteworthy contributors for Sturt.

Westies’ coaching staff lauded the efforts of Thomas Kain, Fletcher Dillon and Archie Walsh (20 disposals, seven marks).

North Adelaide’s Josh Casey proved the hero when his calm set shot was the difference in toppling Central District by six points at Prospect Oval.

With scores tied away in 23rd minute, the Roosters moved the ball neatly from a half-back stoppage to find Casey on the lead at half-forward.

The left-footed Rooster then nailed his set shot from 40m with two minutes left as teammates Ben Francou (21 disposals, three goals), Ethan Herbert and Blake Oudshoorn-Bennier (23 disposals) played their role in holding off the Dogs in the dying stages.

Now with a 3-3 win-loss record, last year’s runner-up rated the efforts of Blake McPhedran, Cameron Nairn (29 disposals, 16 marks) and Dusty Geister (four goals) highly.

Glenelg’s efficiency inside 50m played a significant role in its comfortable 31-point triumph against Norwood at The Parade.

The Tigers had three fewer inside 50 entries than the Redlegs and only one more scoring shot but still managed to cruise to victory by leading at every change.

Rex Jones, captain Tim Alver (28 disposals, one goal) and Ned McCarthy were influential for the visitors as Gabe Patterson and Patrick Hutchins each booted four goals.

Norwood’s Micah Kretschmer (31 disposals) was the leading ball-winner for the contest while teammates Charlie Best and Jim Kelly weren’t far behind with 26 possessions each.