Round 11 Hostplus SANFL League Match Previews

Who can stop Sturt? Norwood thought it had in Round 9. Then Glenelg seemed about to do it. But the Blues simply refuse to concede and now they’re up to 10 in a row to start the season and are already three games clear at the top of the table.

Woodville-West Torrens historically has proved a thorn in Sturt’s side – and the Eagles are the last side to have won at Fortress Unley.

Sam Jacobs’ men edged the Blues out by eight points in Round 5 last season, which Marty Mattner’s side followed with a run of 13 successive wins.

The Eagles have won three of their past four at Unley so, despite Sturt having won 14 in a row at home, making the trip there won’t worry them.

And they will be desperate for the W after a 15-point loss at Alberton left sixth-placed Port breathing down their necks just two wins behind them with a game in hand.

But they know they will need to be at their best. Kobe Mutch, No. 1 in the league for disposals, averaging 27, will just need to keep doing what he’s been doing, while you can bet James Rowe will thrive in getting up the noses of opponents and Blues fans.

And, if you’re a Sturt supporter, why wouldn’t you be up and about? You wouldn’t be in the habit of leaving early, that’s for sure.

Because the Blues’ grandstand finishes are worth the wait. After kicking three goals in the final six minutes to pip Norwood by four points at Unley, they were 12 points down at Glenelg four minutes into the last quarter.

There was talk last year about Sturt’s method of moving the ball into attack, about being able to bang on quick goals, about making the most of their chances.

In 14 seconds, with two kicks and three bounces of the Sherrin the Blues turned the game on its head. Casey Voss’s huge kick-out from a behind bounced on the centre wing and it was ‘Boom, Boom’ as Zac Becker reeled it in with his left hand, sprinted a few paces and unleashed a long bomb that bounced twice and straight through the goals.

Sixty seconds later Sam Conforti, on his way to three last-quarter goals, snapped truly and scores were level. By the time best-on-ground Tommy Lewis – in a Herculean performance he racked up 29 disposals, 10 clearances and 11 tackles – bombed a goal from outside 50 the Blues were 20 points to the good.

Winning in the minor round has become a habit but Sturt is building a game to stand up in finals  – the way it stood up at the Bay was a pretty good pointer.

Dual Glenelg premiership coach Darren Reeves said: “Sturt are an incredibly good and well-drilled team and are the team to beat, that’s for sure.”

The Eagles won’t be daunted as they look to step up after close losses against other top-five sides Central (one point) and Glenelg (four points) and a fighting 15-point loss against a strong Port side.

West Adelaide’s interim coach Sam Elliott was only metres away – an unusual way to miss out in footy – from a breakthrough Bloods win against North in his second game in charge.

He would have been hugely encouraged as his men stormed home from a 23-point deficit at the 13-minute-mark of the final term.

Two goals to key forward Tom Scully followed by a major to Dylan McCormick at the 20-minute-mark left the Bloods within striking distance and the ball was in McCormick’s hands when the final siren sounded.

But he wasn’t quite within distance as his shot fell just short and wide to the relief of the Roosters, who might have been suffering some deja vu as their lead slipped, having been courageously overhauled by Westies late in Round 5 at Prospect.

Kobe Ryan continues to be a lionheart and with game highs of 29 disposals and 11 clearances he was dead-set unlucky to finish on the losing side.

And big man Caleb May threw himself into the fray in such a way he almost lifted Westies to the win, with 29 hit-outs and two team-lifting goals, while McCormick had his best game at the club.

Elliott was positive despite being so near, yet so far. “We did a lot right but still need to work on a few things,” he said, reiterating what we again saw, “effort has never been a question at this footy club.”

“I think you might see us surprise a few teams as the season goes on.”

The Bulldogs will not be surprised by the Bloods throwing everything at them and they know they need a win here.

The bye came at a good time after a hat-trick of losses to top-five sides Sturt, the Eagles and Adelaide.

Influential ruckman Kobe Annand was sorely missed in those games, while the loss of Mani Liddy in the mid-season draft and the suspension to Magarey Medallist Harry Grant have hurt.

But the reset will have helped the Dogs as they chase hard a ninth successive win against West. 

When these sides met on Anzac Day, the Tigers made it three wins from four and the Redlegs were 0-4 after Glenelg banged on eight goals in the last quarter for a 43-point win.

But Norwood at Norwood right now is a different proposition.

The Legs are clearly stronger with key players returning from a horror early-season injury toll and they are playing some of the footy new coach Jade Sheedy has been looking for.

The Legs’ percentage has leapt from 39 after Round 4 to 51, to show how strongly they are stepping in the right direction and they are doing it at pace, quickly piling on the goals in bursts in a convincing 52-point win against South.

They rammed on three goals in five minutes midway through the first quarter, then made a statement with another three in five minutes to end the term.

Three goals in four minutes to start the final quarter sealed the deal, two coming from Jackson Callow, who finished with four and, with 26 for the season, has only Glenelg’s Lachie Hosie (34), ahead of him in the race for the Ken Farmer Medal. Captain Jacob Kennerley and Billy Cootee were all speed and class through the middle, with ruck duo Luke Surman and Finn Heard setting them on their way.

“Our past five weeks have been really strong. Our footy is building,” Sheedy said.

Wherever they end up on the ladder the Legs will have plenty of say in how the season pans out and the Tigers will be determined to make sure they aren’t caught out.

They were looking good to strengthen their top-three claims leading top side Sturt 8.13 to 7.7 early in the last quarter but their defeat leaves them 7-3 in a pack in second, just one win ahead of fifth-placed Central.

They will rightly feel they didn’t do much wrong against the Blues and while they are clearly missing big-game player Corey Lyons – foot surgery means he’s out until late in the minor round – Patrick Parnell is looking sensational, averaging 25 touches in the past month, Corey’s brother Jarryd has been on song all year, averaging 24 disposals and with seven goals in the past four games, and Magarey Medallist Luke Partington seems to have turned back time.

There’s so much star quality in this side, whose only previous losses were to Adelaide (four points) and Sturt (eight points), they remain the team most likely to stop Sturt. 

We were warned. The Crows mean business as coach Matthew Wright forecast before the season kicked off, when he declared: “We’re in the comp to win it.”

Well, Adelaide is looking every bit a top-three side – the place you need to be to mount a premiership charge – after strengthening its grip on third spot against last year’s preliminary finalist Central District in testing conditions in Elizabeth.

The Crows banged on 6.7 to zilch in a third quarter show of strength.

Having last year’s leading knock ruckman and this year’s runaway leader in Kieran Strachan and Lachlan McAndrew together in the same side is a luxury against sides struggling to find one quality big man, while Chris Burgess is the type of dynamic goalkicker who can win finals.

With 26 he’s joint second on the goalkicking list to a noted finals matchwinner, Glenelg’s Lachie Hosie (34).

A 7-2 record is Adelaide’s best start to a season – after four preliminary final appearances without yet making it to the Big Dance, can Adelaide also conjure its best finish?

Next up is North, which has picked up two wins in the past three games and is rebuilding confidence. Interim Roosters coach Sam Mayes was a relieved man as North hung on against West in a four-point thriller that went down to an after-the-siren shot at goal.

Coaches love a response and he’d had one after North was handed a footy lesson in an 81-point loss at the Bay.

After being 23 points up in the last quarter against West it had ended up a bit too close for comfort but Mayes was happy with the team’s attitude, effort and how connected they were as a group, all keys to again pushing for a finals berth.

Kym Lebois showed the sort of X-factor coaches love having in their line-ups as he booted four goals in a stunning second quarter that set the Roosters on their way.

Coaches also love leaders who step up. Hughen Wissman, who earned 26 disposals, is doing that and what would you expect from the player wearing the No. 10? Alex Spina’s two clutch goals in the last quarter led the way home.

In the first six rounds, Port Adelaide’s only win came against South Adelaide.

So Panthers fans will be concerned the Magpies are looking significantly more formidable a couple of months later.

Strengthened by a double whammy of a decreasing AFL injury list and three pick-ups from rival SANFL clubs in the mid-season draft, Port is on the way up.

Beating North and West, teams in the bottom half of the table with new coaches feeling their way, was hardly unexpected but knocking off the fourth-placed Eagles has a finals spot on the radar.

Confidence is building and having more AFL experience in the ranks clearly helps Port’s young talent, whose “resilience and the ability to stay in games is improving”, coach Hamish Hartlett noted.

“We feel like we’re building confidence within our game plan, naturally, when you have 18, 19, 20-year-old kids, as they get more exposure to the level they’re going to become better players,” he said after Jeremy Finlayson sealed the deal against the Eags with the last goal in a 15-point win.

South’s trip to Norwood will not have helped its confidence, with just one goal on the board to half-time in a 52-point loss.

The Panthers fought hard in the second half but they’ll need that right from the start this week.