Round 18 Hostplus SANFL League Match Previews

It’s a rivalry anyone who watched SANFL footy in the 1970s through to the early ’90s will vividly recall.

It’s one Dion Hayman has brought to life in his Step Back in Time series in the Budget this week as he recalls the fiercely-fought 1982 Anzac Day thriller at Football Park, when a controversial grand final rematch went down to the wire – actually, it wasn’t decided until after the siren.

And nothing will be left out on the ground this Saturday as Port Adelaide treks to Glenelg with finals footy very much on the agenda.

The Magpies snared a place in the top five for the first time this season with a 24-point win against West in Round 16, then stayed on track for finals with an impressive 14-point success against fourth-ranked Central.

Now it gets tougher, against a side that has won its past six games – oh, and the past two premierships.

But, as always, Port won’t be backing away from the challenge, or thinking it can’t win. There is plenty of class at the top-end with the youngsters who fill in the gaps now combining well.

The latest example of this came last week, when Josh Byrne booted three goals against the Bulldogs. Coach Hamish Hartlett, who can feel the excitement and momentum building, said Byrne “was left out of the side originally but came in as a late call-up from his club Broadview and played so well”.

The stars certainly played their part, Jeremy Finlayson shining brightest with 30 disposals, 17 clearances, 15 hit-outs and two goals.

Inspired in the changerooms pre-game by stars of the Magpies’ 1995 premiership team – they beat Central in the grand final – Port led at each change.

Glenelg may not necessarily need wins right now.

But these Tigers simply don’t know how to concede. There’s been a mighty winning culture at the Bay over the past seven seasons and when they trailed North Adelaide, on its last chance in the hunt for a finals spot, by a point at Prospect 22 minutes into the last quarter, would there be any let up?

No way. Mercurial James Bell won a set shot 35 metres out deep in the forward pocket and nonchalantly slotted the matchwinner from an almost impossible angle, revealing amid the celebrations in the rooms, “that’s the first time I’ve done that in my career”.

“Good teams find a way to win when it isn’t going your way and credit to the players for that part,” coach Darren Reeves noted.

There’s no doubt this Tigers side is a ‘good’ team. At the very least. So they won’t be making it easy for their old rivals.

Time is running out. In fact, it may have run out. But this is definitely the last chance for the Eags to stay in the finals hunt.

For now, fielding a competitive side despite a huge injury list and simply trying to regain that winning feeling will be the No. 1 priority after seven successive losses and the freefall from fourth after Round 10 to seventh on the ladder.

It was always going to be tough last round against rampant unbeaten Sturt, borne out by the 81-point margin, but there were some steps in the right direction – fielding an unchanged team, copping no more injuries and making a strong start with four of the first six goals.

Coach Sam Jacobs said his men would have learned plenty in the past two weeks against the top two sides and is looking to take this into a clash against a side that took a step backwards last week after quite a few steps forward over the previous five rounds.

The Panthers would have been greatly disappointed and surprised to kick just two goals in the first half against Adelaide and to trail 4.5 to 10.11 at the final break.

A four goals-to-two last quarter made it look better but these inconsistent performances are a hazard of an inexperienced group and one of these young guns Ryan Borlace stood up with four goals on debut.

Close games can make or break your season. Norwood’s one-point win against West might just make its 2025 campaign.

North’s five-point loss against Glenelg finally broke its last-gasp finals hopes.

The Redlegs may still be out of the five but they must be feeling a bit lucky after their narrow escape against the Bloods – because they have their destiny firmly in their own hands.

Win both their final two games and they will be playing finals footy. They could hardly have greater incentive.

But winning a sequence of games is a hurdle they will have to overcome, not having won successive games at any stage this season.

They have gone W, L, W, L, W, L, W, L, W, L, W since losing their first five games which, not surprisingly, has proved difficult to overcome.

Having been seven points up at the 30-minute-mark of the last quarter against the Bloods they seemed safe enough but after a West goal the ball was again in their defensive 50 when the siren ended the agony.

“Sometimes you’ve got to win in different ways,” relieved Norwood coach Jade Sheedy said.

“We control our destiny now. We’ve never been in this position all year.”

Sheedy would prefer it if his men started making it easier for themselves, the final score of 12.14 to 13.7 with six more inside-50s telling a story.

The previous week they had the same number of scoring shots as the high-flying Crows but lost 8.15 to 12.11 with five more inside-50s, so clearly they are getting plenty of the ball and enough opportunities. Straighten up and they might be on the road to finals.

The Roosters would have taken plenty out of their unlucky loss at the hands of in-form Glenelg. It was their sixth successive loss – and the Tigers’ sixth straight win – but it was one of their best performances of the season and they led by 18 points just before half-time.

“It comes down to moments when games are so close like that,” stand-in coach Sam Mayes said. “We put ourselves in a position to win but couldn’t quite get it done, which we’re not happy about. But I was really proud of our effort.”

He was spot-on when he said, “it was a massive step in the right direction”.

The Roosters will also take a step back for this game as it’s dedicated to Ken Farmer’s elevation to Australian Football Hall of Fame Legend. The Farmer family has been invited to the club’s lunch with another Hall of Fame Legend, Malcolm Blight, as guest speaker.

“They just don’t drop their standards.” That was Eagles coach Sam Jacobs’ lament after the rampant Double Blues sealed the minor premiership at 16-0 with an 81-point romp at Woodville.

Indeed, if anything, the Blues seem to be ramping it up. They have averaged a remarkable 135 points in the past six games and in that time their average winning margin is 77 points.

They are playing sparkling attacking footy after last year being questioned for being too defence-oriented when they bowed out of the finals in straight sets.

That all seems ancient history as a side starting to return to full strength – with skipper James Battersby playing his 200th game for the Blues against the Eagles last week and Magarey Medallist Will Snelling and Jared Dakin on their way back – goes from strength to strength.

After a hard-fought start in which Sturt managed just two of the first six goals, the Blues simply stepped it up a gear to bang on 17 of the next 20, Angus Anderson continuing to be one of the success stories of the season in the midfield.

“I feel we are sussing out teams early and then reacting to what they are doing, which is a good sign,” Mattner said. “Everyone is playing their part.”

That leaves a huge test for Westies – so unlucky to miss out in their one-point loss to the Legs when they kept on throwing themselves in there until the final siren – to see how far they have advanced.

“I don’t like losing games but at the same time it would have been very easy for us, at this time of year, to not show up with the right attitude,” coach Sam Elliott said.

“Incredibly disappointed not to get the result but our energy was excellent and we are playing a brand of footy that is allowing us to go forward and score.”

They must keep stepping forward here, no matter the quality of the opposition.

The challenges in SANFL footy just keep coming. And they certainly are for Central, completely safe in the final five but having suffered a setback against Port and with tough games ahead against the Crows and Glenelg.

And all this with the latest injury blow in ruck, an area the Dogs seem to have had no luck in over the past few seasons.

Werribee recruit Kobe Annand has been sidelined by knee problems after flying in the first seven rounds and big Jack Tomkinson was forced off with a foot issue during last week’s loss against Port.

Beau Thomas has shown an outstanding ability to step up to any challenge but he will need some help.

Still, he won’t step back from any challenge and neither will coach Paul Thomas or the Dogs.

“These are the sides we could be playing in finals, so it is a good test to have these hard matches,” he said of facing Adelaide, then the Tigers.

And the Crows sure are a test. They were never in danger in a 27-point win after a fast start against South, midfielder Billy Dowling racking up 40 disposals and two goals and Matt Crouch again winning plenty of the ball.

“When the AFL side is top of the table, the domino effect is there are a lot of guys at this level who could be playing higher,” Adelaide coach Matt Wright said, noting, “it’s another step on where we want to get to at the end of the season,” as Adelaide wrapped up the finals double-chance.

They sure are stepping in the right direction.