Round 1 Hostplus SANFL Snapshot – Saturday

A wasteful North Adelaide cruised to a 16-point victory against West Adelaide at Prospect Oval.

As the Roosters’ faithful enjoyed the new Pavilion at Prospect for the first time on game day, their team reeled in the premiership points by under three goals despite having 10 more scoring shots.

The hosts also dominated key statistics such as inside 50s (58-35), clearances (43-19) and tackles (68-39) but continued to leave the door ajar for the plucky Bloods.

Leading at every change, North stretched its advantage to as much as 39 points 10 minutes into the final term before West – playing under the guidance of Ryan Anderson – kicked the last four goals of the match.

2020 Magarey Medallist Campbell Combe proved he will again be a force for the Roosters with 35 disposals, seven tackles and seven clearances while Harrison Wigg was superb with 29 disposals, six tackles and six clearances.

2022 Magarey Medallist Aaron Young had 29 possessions and eight clearances while North skipper Alex Spina finished with 28 disposals and 10 marks.

North premiership forward Keenan Ramsey booted three goals, including one clever snap from a stoppage in the pocket.

West defender Callum Park led the way on the stats sheet with 29 disposals and seven marks while Kobe Ryan proved he will be a difference-maker at League level this year in the middle with 26 possessions, seven marks and four clearances.

Crafty Bloods forward Josh Gore booted four goals as his side was without senior coach Adam Hartlett, who was with his wife for the birth of their child.

Five goals in succession proved pivotal in Sturt’s impressive 31-point victory against Glenelg at Wigan Oval.

With both sides unable to find any great fluency in the opening term, booting two goals each, it was the Double Blues who broke free with the only three majors of the second quarter.

And once star recruit Marty Frederick and livewire forward James Richards saluted to start the third quarter, the hosts had opened up a defining 28-point lead seven minutes after the main break.

Glenelg, playing under the tutelage of Darren Reeves for the first time, managed to string together three goals in a row during the fourth term to cut the deficit to 19 points, only to have Frederick nail his second and gun midfielder Patrick Wilson cap off a fine game with his third.

Wilson – primed for a strong, injury-free campaign – was influential as he also registered a game-high 28 disposals, 10 tackles, seven clearances and nine marks.

Blues captain James Battersby had 26 disposals, eight tackles and six clearances while former Power speedster Frederick collected 19 disposals and six marks to go with his two goals in his first appearance in the Double Blue.

The Tigers were unable to regularly break free of Sturt’s defensive action as midfield veteran Matthew Snook collected a team-high 26 disposals, seven tackles and eight clearances.

Rebounding defender Darcy Bailey tallied 22 disposals for the Bays while Luke Partington registered 20 disposals and 11 tackles as Brett Turner managed 17 touches and a goal in his 100th Hostplus SANFL League match.

Adelaide’s quest to qualify for its first Hostplus SANFL League Grand Final got off to a flying start with an eye-catching 78-point win against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.

Falling just shy of a berth in last year’s title-decider, the Crows are determined to go one step further in 2023.

And it’s fair to say that Michael Godden’s men certainly look capable should Adelaide’s injury-list remain healthy as it scored at will in the SANFL Showdown.

Leading by just four points at the opening change, Adelaide piled on 5.2 to the Magpies’ 1.4 in the second term to open up a 26-point lead by half-time.

This was just a taste of what was to unfold as the Crows slammed on six goals in succession to start the second half as Isaya McKenzie snapped truly in his 50th Hostplus SANFL League game to extend the advantage to 62 points.

It was then party time for Adelaide as difference-making midfielder Harry Schoenberg dealt with his AFL demotion in impressive fashion with the final goal of the game.

Schoenberg finished with 34 possessions, eight clearances, eight marks and three goals to be adjudged the Coles Value Player of the match.

Fellow midfielders Matt Crouch (29 disposals), Jackson Hately (27 disposals) and Tyler Brown (26 disposals) were also very effective as ruckman Kieran Strachan finished with 18 disposals, six marks, four clearances and 26 hit outs.

Crows goalsneak Tariek Newchurch booted four goals from his 15 disposals while former Rooster Blayne O’Loughlin looked comfortable at SANFL League level on debut with 14 disposals and five tackles.

Port – coached by Tyson Goldsack for the first time – was unable to stem the flow of goals after half-time despite finishing with just two fewer inside 50 entries for the match.

SANFL-contracted midfielder Nick Moore led the way for the Pies with 24 disposals, seven clearances and 10 tackles while Dylan Williams continued in his defensive role with 22 disposals and six marks.

Former Kangaroo Trent Dumont, Hugh Jackson and Josh Sinn all tallied 19 disposals for Port, who withdrew talented midfielder Jackson Mead before the bounce.

A third-quarter surge from South Adelaide propelled it to a comfortable 26-point win against Central District at Flinders University Stadium.

Leading by just five points at half-time as both sides had only kicked three goals each, the Panthers turned on the after-burners to kick five goals in succession from the fifth minute to the stroke of time-on in the third quarter.

In contrast, the Bulldogs could only manage one goal to Luca Whitelum in the 27th minute as they suddenly found themselves as much as 37 points behind the hosts as recruit Jonti Schuback kicked truly in his first Hostplus SANFL League outing.

Former South skipper Keegan Brooksby had a huge impact on the contest with 15 disposals, four tackles, four clearances and 55 hit outs as he set up his fellow midfielders.

Magarey Medallist Bryce Gibbs made a successful comeback after missing the majority of 2022 with a shoulder injury, racking up 24 disposals and five clearances while Mitch O’Neill was prolific with 27 disposals, 11 clearances and nine tackles.

Returning key position recruit Sam Skinner snared 12 marks to go with his 15 disposals while former GWS tall Zac Sproule kicked three goals in his SANFL debut for the Panthers.

Central veteran Justin Hoskin led the way statistically for his side with 26 disposals and nine marks while Harry Grant ran hard for his 25 touches, nine clearances and 10 tackles.

Delisted Gold Coast Sun Jez McLennan had 16 disposals in his return to the Bulldogs while luckless Aaron Nietschke, who has undergone three knee reconstructions, was encouraging with 16 possessions, 11 tackles and a goal.