Round 1 Hostplus SANFL Snapshot – Saturday

Sturt eventually wore down a feisty South Adelaide unit, easing to a 26-point win at Magain Stadium to open its Hostplus SANFL League season in positive fashion.

Determined to wipe away last year’s straight-sets finals exit, the Double Blues were made to fight hard against the young Panthers, who got within four points inside the first minute of the last term.

The visitors – who won the inside 50m count 48-38 – pushed out to a four goal advantage by booting the opening three goals of the final stanza.

But consecutive goals to South livewires Angus Bradley and Corey Grocock cut the margin to just 14 points entering time-on.

This was enough to make Marty Mattner’s men steady, with Oliver Grivell’s major followed by a 55m set shot bomb from Sam Conforti to seal the deal for the Blues.

Sturt defender Will Coomblas had a monster game with 26 disposals and 13 marks while fellow defender Flynn Perez was also an aerial threat with 12 marks to go with his 27 touches.

Midfield bulls Tom Lewis (22 disposals) and Will Snelling (19 disposals) racked up the Sherrin while ultra-consistent Casey Voss had 21 disposals and nine marks.

Reliable forward Tom Emmett made a welcome return from Fremantle to collect 20 disposals, take seven marks and kick two goals.

Conforti, Grivell and Josh Hone each booted two majors for the visitors.

An even performance from South saw Oliver Davis and Eamon Wilkinson each chalk up 17 disposals while Phoenix Hargrave enjoyed his midfield time to collect 15 touches.

Grocock was a constant threat in front of goal, with two checkside set shots a feature amongst his four-goal haul for the Panthers.

Adelaide signalled its ruthless intent in 2025 with a brutal 95-point triumph of West Adelaide at Hisense Stadium.

Boasting an incredibly healthy list, the Crows benefited from its midfield rotation running riot as it engineered a dominant 54-27 inside 50m count whilst also collecting 67 more disposals for the afternoon.

As many as 12 players landed on Adelaide’s goal-scoring list, with half booting two goals as the visitors romped to a tally of 18.18 (126).

Defensively, Matthew Wright’s outfit was equally impressive in restricting the Bloods to just 4.7 (31) while holding them goalless until Jordan White broke the drought with their opening goal from a set shot in seventh minute of the fourth quarter.

Luke Nankervis and Harry Schoenberg each tallied 28 possessions whilst also hitting the scoreboard to put their hands up for AFL selection while Sam Berry also impressed with 22 disposals and two goals.

Veteran Brodie Smith was classy across half-back with his 24 disposals while also enjoying a trademark long running goal while former North Melbourne midfielder Blake Drury enjoyed his SANFL debut with 19 disposals, five tackles and two goals.

SANFL signing Ned Atkinson, from Sturt, celebrated his first League goal from a long set shot, to go with his 15 touches and five marks.

West trio Kobe Ryan (28 disposals, nine clearances, seven tackles), Tom Morrish (25 disposals) and Sam Frost (24 disposals) battled their hearts out but the Crows’ midfield depth was too much to overcome.

Tall Bloods forward Tom Scully managed a goal by cleverly trapping the ball on the goalline to bring the loyal local fans to life in his return from Port Adelaide.

It might not be your day but it can be your moment.

Such was the afternoon of Central District forward Nick Lange, who used one of his eight disposals to produce a match-winning finish on the run against Woodville-West Torrens at X Convenience Oval.

With his team trailing by five points inside the 30-minute mark of the final quarter, Lange received a handball from teammate Aiden Grace just inside the 50m arc before coolly slotting his sole goal of the game.

It brought the Bulldogs fans to their feet in celebration, their noise spurring on the hosts to then win the next centre clearance and keep the ball in their half of the ground until the final siren sounded just before 33 minutes ticked over.

Central didn’t have anyone dominate the contest but it received contributions across all lines to eventually bank the premiership points despite having 18 more inside 50m entries in the see-sawing affair.

Leyton Chisholm was the Dogs’ leading disposal-winner with 21 while Wilson Barry and Mani Liddy each had 20 touches.

Magarey Medallist Harry Grant had 19 disposals and five clearances while Tasmanian recruit Zach Adams finished with 17 disposals and 10 marks in his SANFL debut.

The Eagles looked to have timed their run perfectly when Jay Watson’s second major was soon followed up by an impressive set shot by ruck Jordan Lukac during time-on of the final term.

It opened up a seven-point lead but the visitors’ attempt to take valuable seconds off the clock only ended up playing into Central’s hands as Lange found the go-ahead goal at the death.

Premiership midfielder Kobe Mutch led the way with 32 disposals and six clearances in his return from South Adelaide while captain Joey Sinor (28 disposals) and the ever-creative James Rowe (26 disposals, two goals) were also influential.

Eagle Max Beattie looked polished in his new half-back role with 21 disposals while Jack Oatey Medallist Jack Hayes racked up 21 disposals, 10 marks and four tackles in his SANFL return.

But the standout for the Eagles was tall forward Connor Ballenden (12 disposals, seven marks), who booted 5.1 from set shots for the match, his only blemish hitting the post in the last stanza.

Six goals in succession provided the perfect platform for North Adelaide’s stunning 32-point upset of Norwood under lights at The Parade.

Determined to rejoin the mix inside the top five after missing the last two finals campaigns, the Roosters’ signalled their intent with a new-look midfield led by ruck recruit Alex Van Wyk.

Courted by the Roosters after earning the Redlegs’ past two Reserves best-and-fairests in the shadow of Harry Boyd, Van Wyk produced an influential display in his Hostplus SANFL League debut.

The 20-year-old giant, who measures in at 203cm, finished with 21 disposals, eight marks, eight clearances and 30 hit outs to give his new midfielders first look at the Sherrin.

”It was really good to go up against the old side and good to get the win against the old club,” Van Wyk told Channel 7 after the match.

”I’m not going to lie, I did run to the Norwood bench the first time…

”The whole starting midfield is new, we got the chance to meet each other during preseason and we bonded so it showed tonight.”

Big-bodied midfielder Angus Schumacher made his presence felt in the first half in setting the Roosters rollling before finishing with 26 disposals and 10 clearances.

Former Gold Coast Sun Oskar Faulkhead collected 23 disposals in his debut while Zavier Maher, signed from Carlton’s VFL team, impressed with 19 disposals for North.

North finished with 17 more inside 50s for the match, only disappointing their fans with inaccuracy in front of goal which resulted in a total of 8.19 (67) for the match.

This kept the door slighlty ajar for Norwood, with Jade Sheedy in charge for the first time, but the Legs battled without Luke Surman (ankle) unavailable to ruck.

Sandover Medallist Nik Rokahr, cleared from WAFL club Swan Districts on Monday, was the leading disposal-winner on the ground with 29 disposals and six clearances.

Legs vice captain Jack Heard was under siege all night but continued to repel with 24 disposals and 13 marks while Matt Ling had 23 disposals.