2024 Hostplus SANFL League Elimination Final Preview

Elimination Final – Sunday September 1

Glenelg v Woodville West Torrens | 12.15pm | Live and Free on Seven & 7plus | SANFL Now | AFL.com.au & AFL Live App | Live radio on 1629 SEN SA & SEN App

Head to Head – Overall
Played – 86
Glenelg – 30
Eagles – 54
Drawn – 2

Head to Head – Finals
Played – 6
Glenelg – 1
Eagles – 5

Recent Form
Glenelg has won five of the past six matches and seven of the past 10.

Last Finals Meeting
2021 Grand Final – Eagles 15.9 (99) d Glenelg 4.8 (32) at Adelaide Oval

2024 Meetings
Round 13 – Glenelg 9.13 (67) d Eagles 8.7 (55) at Stratarama Stadium
Round 7 – Glenelg 11.12 (78) d Eagles 10.7 (67) at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval

Liam McBean (Glenelg) v Luke Thompson (Eagles)
A crucial battle looms inside the Tigers’ attacking 50m arc as experienced pair Liam McBean and Luke Thompson lock horns. Tigers spearhead McBean, who placed third in the Ken Farmer Medal, will be looking to lead from the front in his first final as captain. After announcing his retirement last week, reliable defender Thompson will be looking to extend his career for at least another match by curtailing McBean’s influence.

Matt Allen (Glenelg) v James Rowe (Eagles)
This match-up presents as a duel between each team’s genuine game-breakers. Neither player needs a mountain of possession to create damage against their opposition while they both have a penchant for hitting the scoreboard when their team needs it most. Allen boasts a lovely left-foot kick which can gain plenty of distance for the Bays while Rowe is extremely difficult to contain, such is the Eagle’s ability to zip in and out of traffic.

Is the slumbering giant awakening? Can the reigning premier regain its best form and start stringing wins together again when it counts? Was last week’s crushing win against South Adelaide a pointer more great things are ahead for the club that has set the benchmark over the past six SANFL seasons? There are always heaps of questions before the cutthroat elimination final kicks off our major round.

And there are plenty about the Eagles. Can they regain the mojo that had them on top of the table after Round 10? Can the club that has challenged Glenelg most over the past half-dozen years, with back-to-back flags in 2020-21, turn it on again in springtime on Adelaide Oval?

While it’s fair to say the second half of the season hasn’t gone as well as supporters of these sides might have hoped, the Tigers winning just three of their past eight games and the Eagles only one, there are five clubs whose seasons are over that would love to be out there on the iconic ground again just three wins from a grand final date. One of these sides will be two games from the premiership decider by Sunday evening – and suddenly feeling pretty positive about what might be ahead. And it’s only six years since North Adelaide showed what can be done by charging from the elimination final to win the flag.

The Tigers certainly look the most likely of these opponents to set off on a winning run. They were back to their most potent in dismissing the Panthers by 118 points at the Bay, kicking a remarkable 21.22 (148) after only averaging 63 points in their previous seven games. But, mostly, it was about making the most of their chances. In losses the previous two weeks against North and Central they had won clearances 36-34 and 48-30 and inside 50s 59-41 and 48-29, so maybe they weren’t as far away as some people had been telling us. And the week before that they overwhelmed reigning premier Norwood by 34 points, winning clearances 47-33 and inside-50s 55-42.

And the news could be getting better if the Bays can get past the Eagles, with last year’s Jack Oatey Medallist Lachie Hosie making a bold bid to return from his long-term knee injury.

While it’s harder to mount a case for the Eagles, the two clashes between these sides this season point to this sudden-death confrontation being hard fought. Glenelg won both times – but by just 11 points at Woodville in Round 7 and 12 points at the Bay in Round 13, when the Tigers only sealed the deal with a Luke Reynolds goal in time-on of the last quarter.

The Eagles will have happy memories of their past two finals against the Tigers at Adelaide Oval, winning the second semi-final and grand final in 2021. And it’s only a couple of weeks since Sam Jacobs’ men had that winning feeling as they brushed South aside by 57 points, slamming on 13 goals in the second half in a return to the free-scoring footy they had displayed in the first 10 rounds when they claimed outstanding wins against the current premiership favourites, Norwood and Sturt.

The Panthers were unable to subdue a dynamo who clearly can be a matchwinner on the big stage in finals – James Rowe. He racked up 29 disposals, seven clearances and booted four goals while adding the spark and enthusiasm necessary for wins in September.

While the Eagles clearly have been missing superstar midfielder Riley Knight, who has undergone shoulder surgery, they have a couple of legends they will want to keep on the park as long as possible this September. Stairway Of Champions inductees Matthew Goldsworthy and Luke Thompson are royalty down at Woodville with more than 500 league games and five premierships between them and their team-mates will be desperate to send them off in style.