Round 14 Hostplus SANFL Snapshot – Sunday

Adelaide strengthened its position inside the Hostplus SANFL League’s top-three with a clinical 69-point victory against Woodville-West Torrens at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval.

Fuelled by standout performances from ruckman Kieran Strachan, midfielder Tyler Brown and six-goal forward Lachlan Gollant, the Crows effectively put the Eagles out of the contest by the first change.

Having slammed on 7.3 to 1.1 in the opening quarter, Michael Godden’s men kept the foot on the accelerator to establish a 10-goal advantage by half-time while keeping the hosts to just 1.5.

From there, the Crows were in cruise control as they regularly made the game look like a slick training drill as Strachan got things moving in the middle with 27 hit outs, 25 disposals, 13 marks, three clearances and a goal as he shaded Brown and Gollant for best afield honours.

Brown’s power at the stoppage was a feature as he racked up 35 disposals, eight clearances and two goals while Gollant’s set shot kicking was super impressive as he helped himself to 6.1 from 12 disposals and nine marks.

Making a rare SANFL appearance after being rested last week, Crow Jake Soligo appeared refreshed as he racked up 27 disposals, four clearances and an eye-catching one-handed mark in the goal square.

Pacy Will Hamill provided drive from the back half with 22 disposals while Elliott Himmelberg continued his solid form with three goals from 18 disposals and six marks.

Fielding two AAMI Rookies in Jay Watson and Kade Herbert, the Eagles were led by former Crow James Rowe who amassed 38 possessions, eight marks, seven clearances and 11 tackles against his former side.

Zane Williams seems to be relishing his new role from defence with 25 disposals and seven marks while Max Litster’s second half was strong aerially as he tallied seven marks with 16 disposals.

Watson and Herbert showed promise, particularly early when the game was hot as they finished with 11 and 10 disposals each in their Hostplus League debuts.

Tall forward Connor Ballenden and impressive crumbing forward Sam Nicholls booted two goals each, the latter nailing a bomb from 50m.

Port Adelaide enhanced its Hostplus League finals credentials even further with an impressive 19-point win against early pacesetter Sturt at Alberton Oval.

The Magpies have now strung together four wins in a row and claimed five victories from their past six outings as they nestle comfortably in fourth place on the ladder with an 8-6 win-loss record.

Importantly, they have now also claimed a major scalp in the Double Blues, who had seemingly returned to form after booting 17 goals in three terms against South just seven days earlier.

Despite having 28 fewer disposals for the match, Tyson Goldsack’s men registered seven more inside 50 entries and four more scoring shots as they made the most of the visitors’ inability to apply scoreboard pressure in the first half.

Sturt got within eight points when premiership forward Josh Hone booted his second goal nearing the 19th minute mark of the fourth term, only for the hosts to respond with the final six scoring shots of the contest.

With an evenly spread midfield effort, Port had Jase Burgoyne (24 disposals, seven marks), Quinton Narkle (23 disposals, one goal) and Trent Dumont (20 disposals) at the top of its stats sheet.

Riley Bonner put in another solid performance with 22 touches and 10 marks while Jackson Mead tallied 18 disposals and a nice left-foot snap goal in the first term.

Athletic forward Ollie Lord kicked two goals as he provided a constant presence inside 50m while Nick Moore, Tom Scully and Cody Szust – who was a late inclusion for Orazio Fantasia – also booted a pair of majors.

Sturt’s Tom Lewis was again a workhorse for his side, collecting 26 disposals, six clearances and 13 tackles as Casey Voss chalked up 27 disposals across half-back.

Skipper James Battersby battled hard for 24 disposals while Blues fans will be encouraged by the performance of Chad Reschke in just his third League game, which included two goals and a huge contested mark in the first term.