2024 Hostplus SANFL League First Semi Final Preview

Sunday September 8

Sturt v Glenelg | 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 – 270
Sturt – 146
Glenelg – 122
Drawn – 2

Head to Head – Finals
Played – 19
Sturt – 8
Glenelg – 11

Recent Form
Last six games split, with three wins each. Glenelg has seven of the past 10 matches.

Last Finals Meeting
2023 Grand Final – Glenelg 13.8 (86) d Sturt 8.14 (62) at Adelaide Oval

2024 Meetings
Round 15- Sturt 14.8 (92) d Glenelg 10.12 (72) at Thomas Farms Oval
Round 4 – Sturt 11.16 (82) d Glenelg 6.8 (44) at Stratarama Stadium

Tom Lewis (Sturt) v James Bell (Glenelg)
It promises to be a battle of strength inside the centre square when Sturt’s Tom Lewis and Glenelg’s James Bell go toe-to-toe. Both players boast incredibly strong builds and the ability to break through tackles with power at the clearances. Lewis has had his workload managed throughout the minor round to ensure he will be at his peak in September while Bell is coming off one of his finest performances for the Tigers, collecting 25 disposals, seven clearances, five tackles and a goal in the Elimination Final.

Steven Slimming (Sturt) v Chris Curran (Glenelg)
Two of the competition’s inform wingman could collide in the First Semi-Final. Left-footed Slimming was influential in Sturt’s strong opening against the Bulldogs in the Qualifying Final, using the ball with precision while racking up 20 disposals. Bays veteran Curran continue to shine after coming out of retirement in 2024, collecting 21 disposals and booting a memorable goal in honour of his late dad for Father’s Day in the Elimination Final.

The answer to last week’s question – is the slumbering giant awakening? – is a ‘yes’. Now there is a new query over Glenelg. Can the Bays beat the only team they have failed to claim a win against this season to stay in the race for back-to-back flags?

Sturt is Glenelg’s surprise first semi-final rival – after a 30-point third-quarter lead evaporated against Central – and the Blues convincingly beat the Tigers by 38 points on Anzac Day at the Bay, then claimed the upperhand by 20 points at Unley in Round 15.

Glenelg coach Darren Reeves said: “We feel like we’ve got our game in better shape now.” And the Tigers are undoubtedly up and about after producing an elimination final masterclass in dismantling the Eagles by 71 points, booting another cricket score (19.17) a week after ramming on 21.22 against South Adelaide to round out the minor round. And now superstar spearhead Lachie Hosie – who Sturt fans won’t need reminding booted six goals and won the Jack Oatey Medal in last year’s grand final – is on track to make his long-awaited return after knee surgery following a Round 7 injury that was thought would cost him the season. Suddenly the pressure has shifted from the Bays, who lost four of five games before tackling the Panthers in Round 19, to the Blues, who won a staggering 13 games in succession before the major round.

Finals footy is so often about taking your chances. Or not. Sturt didn’t make the most of its opportunities against Central – it might have just about had the game sewn up if it had capitalised fully in leading 5.8 to 1.2 10 minutes into the third quarter. The Blues’ radar has been off at times this season, ending the minor round as the in-form team of the competition but with the lowest goalkicking accuracy in the league – 47 per cent. It didn’t help they were up against the side that rated No. 1 in the area – at 56 per cent. The Dogs incredibly booted 7.0 in the second half to seal – or steal – the deal.

Hardly surprisingly, Blues coach Martin Mattner described the 11-point loss as “frustrating”. “In the first three quarters I thought we played some really good footy, just probably didn’t capitalise going forward as well as we should have. In the last quarter there were a few moments … but we didn’t take those moments.”

Mattner knows the quality of his side is good enough to beat anyone and Sturt has beaten every side this season. And when it comes to bouncing back from qualifying final losses, the Blues boss has been there, done that. Last year Sturt was overrun by seven points by Adelaide in the qualifying final, before beating Central and the Crows – the second time around – to set up a grand final meeting with the Bays. And what might just have been Sturt Footy Club’s greatest triumph came under Mattner in 2017 when the Blues completed back-to-back flags after being outpointed by Port Adelaide in the qualifying final. Three weeks later they held off a strong Port side by a point to win the premiership decider. Right now, of course, that’s a long way away – “we’ll take it one day at a time … and one week at a time,” Mattner said – but it must be a reassuring memory.

Still, facing Glenelg in a do-or-die final isn’t ideal. The Bays produced the sort of consistent four-quarter performance against the Eagles coaches dream about. “We were really pleased with how we went about it,” Reeves said. “We felt like we got our pressure around the ball at a level we want to be at, and definitely forward of the ball. We felt it was a really strong finals brand of football we were able to play.” The only problem with Hosie’s return is how to find room for him after such an outstanding team performance, admittedly against a side that lost inspirational skipper Joseph Sinor to a sickening early injury. James Bell provided the spark, Corey Lyons was back to the sort of form that nearly won him the Oatey Medal last year, Cole Gerloff was up and about and Matt Allen and Matthew Snook produced the sort of footy we expect from them when it counts. They will need to be doing that again against a Double Blues midfield featuring Magarey Medal hopeful Will Snelling, James Battersby and Tom Lewis. No wonder Mattner says “it’s going to be a great game”.