Round 15 Hostplus SANFL Snapshot – Saturday

Adelaide made a major move toward securing a spot in the Hostplus SANFL League finals series after hanging on for an 11-point win in the Neil Kerley Tribute Match against West Adelaide at Richmond Oval.

The Crows – now sitting firmly in fifth place – now own a buffer of three premiership points and more than four percent on the sixth-placed Bloods with four minor round contests to play.

Leading at every change after a sluggish start, Matthew Wright’s men clicked into gear with a six-goal second stanza to lead by more than five majors at the main break.

With experienced giant Reilly O’Brien (25 disposals, eight marks, 31 hit outs and 10 clearances) dominating in the ruck, the visitors appeared to have the answers whenever the Bloods attempted to surge back into the encounter.

West, which could have leapfrogged Adelaide into fifth spot with victory, charged home hard at the end to boot the final four goals of the game after Crow Blake Drury put his side up 34 points in the ninth minute of the fourth quarter.

But Adelaide’s class and composure when it counted proved pivotal as Drury (22 disposals, four goals), Chayce Jones (25 disposals) and Lachlan Sholl (24 disposals, 11 marks) all had an impact.

Sid Draper had some clean moments with the Sherrin including a nice snap goal in the second term for the Crows while Finbar Maley was a consistent threat in attack with three goals from his 19 disposals and nine marks.

Crows goalsneak Luke Pedlar played his role well to finish with 2.3 from 14 disposals and seven marks.

West’s tireless midfielder Kobe Ryan was the leading disposal-winner on the ground with 30 to go with two goals while captain Sam Frost (22 disposals) and Cade Kennedy (20 disposals) also worked hard.

Rebounding defender Callum Park collected 25 disposals for West while Chris Burgess had 20 disposals and 12 marks while spending most of his time in defence.

Brady Searle booted three goals for the Bloods while exciting young duo Judd Hansen and Jonty Koehne kicked two each.

Port Adelaide snapped its seven-game losing streak with a stunning 24-point upset of Woodville-West Torrens at Alberton Oval.

Magpies coach Jacob Surjan emplored his charges to play with spirit and energy, likening it to a boxing prize-fight and that’s exactly what his team delivered as it secured just its third win of the season against the odds.

With just eight AFL-listed players, the hosts were powered by surprise-packet Finn Wakelin, who booted 6.1 from his 12 disposals and seven marks in his Hostplus SANFL League debut.

The former Sturt junior, who has been performing strongly for Rostrevor Old Collegians, looked comfortable at the level as he booted three of his majors in the second stanza before putting the icing on the cake with a beauty from long range in the final term.

It ensured the 20-year-old – who is the son of former Central District utility Michael Wakelin – would be selected as the Hostplus Super Player of the Day.

”I only met him last night as he was a late call up. After the first quarter I thought gee he can take a great clunk,” Port teammate Jack Watkins told Channel 7.

Port led at every change against the near full-strength Eagles, making the most of their five extra inside 50 entries as they booted an accurate 15.5 with one less scoring shot than the visitors.

Watkins worked hard for his match-high 33 disposals, eight clearances and seven marks while teammates Will Brodie and Will Lorenz picked up 26 possessions each.

Mid Season Draft signing Alex Van Wyk took another step forward with 18 disposals and seven clearances while another debutant in Zack Young, an NGA prospect, had some nice moments while tallying 11 disposals.

The Eagles, without a win at Queen Street in three seasons under Sam Jacobs, had Ted Clohesy refuse to give in with 26 disposals, eight clearances and 10 tackles while teammates Jack Cook and James Rowe tallied 25 possessions each.

Tall forward Connor Ballenden booted three goals for the visitors, while Jordan Lukac kicked two late in the fourth term.