Round 14 Hostplus SANFLW Match Wraps

By ALEXANDRA BULL

Woodville-West Torrens has claimed its first Hostplus SANFLW League minor premiership, defeating South Adelaide by eight points in Round 14 at Magain Stadium. 

The Eagles and Panthers both welcomed back a host of SA U18 talent for their final match of the minor round season, knowing the winner of the game would claim the minor premiership.

Eagle Klaudia O’Neill got the visitors off to a flying start, slotting her first of four goals for the day, with South forward Shae Archbold kicking truly to get the Panthers on the board.

O’Neill found the goals again late in the first term to give the Eagles a five-point lead heading into quarter time.

A third goal to O’Neill at the start of the second quarter extended her side’s lead to 11 points, before Brianna Walling showed her experience to kick a brilliant running goal.

Archbold executed a sensational rundown tackle to be awarded a free kick, going back and kicking her second before Rosette Zerella kicked accurately from a set shot to give the Eagles a 16-point lead at the main break.

Doreena Hansen got things going again for South with a goal on the run, which was quickly followed up by Tamika May who kicked her first goal of the season.

O’Neill then took a phenomenal one-handed mark and converted to kick her fourth; her side taking a slight one-goal lead into the final term.

Isabelle Benedictson, 18, slotted the Eagles’ seventh goal early in the final term as the visitors made the most of their 18 inside 50s – half of what South Adelaide recorded.

Panther Emily Brockhurst then converted a running goal, but it was not enough as the Eagles held on to claim their maiden SANFLW minor premiership.

Lucy Moore was excellent for the Eagles on her return with 20 disposals, nine tackles, eight clearances and four inside 50s.

Julia Faulkner (22 disposals, eight tackles, six clearances), O’Neill (four goals, five marks) and SA U18 Girls captain Imogen Trengove (16 disposals, 12 tackles) were all instrumental in the Eagles’ 12th win of the season.

Soriah Moon had a field day in the ruck for the Panthers, recording 43 hit outs and seven clearances and was well supported by Layla Vizgaudis (21 disposals, three clearances), Emma Charlton (19 disposals, nine clearances, eight tackles) and Melissa Anderson (13 tackles).

Woodville-West Torrens will host South Adelaide in the Hostplus SANFLW League Second Semi-Final this Sunday from 12pm at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval.

Central District defeated Norwood by 25 points at X Convenience Oval to momentarily climb into the top four before being squeezed out later on Saturday afternoon. 

The 2025 SANFLW leading goal kicker Katelyn Rosenzweig got the Doggies on the board as they hunted the last finals spot, with wayward kicking in the first quarter costing the Redlegs – the home side taking a slight four-point lead into the first break.

Central goalsneak Tesharna Maher ran onto a perfectly kicked ball from Rosenzweig to get things going again in the second quarter before Norwood got on the board via Amelisa Rusden during the second term.

Central showed no signs of slowing down, with three goals in-a-row thanks to Jovanka Zecevic and Rosenzweig, extending the Doggies’ lead out to four goals at the main break.

Rosenzweig kicked off the second half in style, kicking her third goal in under 30 seconds, with her partner in crime Maher following up just over a minute later to extend the Doggies’ lead out to 37 points.

Kiana Lee breathed some life into the game for Norwood, running circles around her opponents before kicking the Redlegs’ second.

Young gun Lani Cocks continued her phenomenal SANFLW debut season for Norwood, taking a strong mark in the air and running on to kick her third goal from three games.

A rundown tackle from Cocks got things going again in the final term, the youngster’s kick finding Lee, who went back and kicked her second.

Central responded perfectly with Rosenzweig, Sophie Eaton and Maher all finding the goals to solidify their team’s strong final showing for season 2025.

However, Norwood weren’t done yet with Jade Halfpenny (one goal) and Kate Alexander (two goals) kicking the final three goals of the game to bring the final margin back to 25 points.

While it may have been one of the best games of the season, it was not enough for Central to stay in the top four, with Sturt beating North Adelaide later in the day to claim the last finals spot.

A number of Central players had a day out, with Rosenzweig (17 disposals, four goals, five marks, six inside 50s) Dakota Williams (21 disposals, eight tackles, five clearances), Maher (15 disposals three goals) and Karissa Searle (17 disposals, nine marks) among the home side’s best.

Halfpenny (29 disposals, 10 marks, eight clearances, one goal) was everywhere for Norwood, with Cocks (22 disposals, eight tackles, one goal), Lottie Almond (14 disposals, five tackles) and Georgie Jaques (15 disposals, five marks) all excellent in a tough loss.

Sturt conjured a huge 35-point win over North Adelaide at Prospect Oval to claim the last SANFLW finals spot for 2025.

It was a stagnant first quarter for both teams at Prospect, with no major score recorded for either team.

The Double Blues kicked into gear in the second term, with forward Georgia King kicking truly to score the first major, before superstar Isobel Kuiper converted to give Sturt a 15-point lead heading into the main break.

Sturt showed no signs of slowing down in the second half, with King kicking her second, before Sienna Fox and Millie McCarthy added to North’s pain, the visitors taking a staggering 35-point lead heading into the final term.

North’s Zara Molloy finally got the Roosters on the board in the final term, taking a strong contested mark before going back to kick a monster goal.

However, it was not enough for North as Sturt continued to run rampant, with 16-year-old Lily Whiteman kicking her first Hostplus SANFLW League goal to cement Sturt’s spot in the top four – edging out Central District, which had won earlier in the day.

Kuiper was everywhere for Sturt with 25 disposals, a whopping 14 tackles, eight clearances and one goal.

Isabella Drew (four marks), Georgia Swan (14 disposals, five tackles) and Alisha Gepp (13 disposals, five tackles, five clearances) were all strong for Sturt as they powered through for their return to finals.

Jamie Parish (2o disposals, four tackles, four marks), Caitlin Hardin (18 disposals, six tackles, six clearances), Djimila Totham (17 disposals, 12 tackles, six clearances) and Aprille Crooks (four tackles) provided some respite for the Roosters in a tough loss.

North Adelaide and Sturt will clash again this Sunday in the Hostplus SANFLW League First Semi-Final at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval from 2pm

West Adelaide soured Glenelg’s retiring champions’ celebrations with an 18-point win over the Tigers at Hisense Stadium.

With SANFLW legend Jess Bates, Glenelg captain Sam Franson and premiership player Ellen Tyminski all retiring at the end of the minor season, Glenelg had plenty to play for on Saturday afternoon.

Sarah Campbell got things underway for the Bloods, with a quick goal before Sarah Deed found herself alone in the goal square to kick her first.

Bloods’ stalwart Nicole Hooper – in her 50th game – then got in on the action, soccering the ball off the ground, West heading into the first break with a 24-point lead over the Tigers.

Charlotte O’Sullivan kicked back-to-back goals for the visitors in the second term, giving the Tigers some hope they could honour their host of retirees in style, but a dominant first quarter from the Bloods was all the home team needed to stay on top.

Deed kicked the lone third quarter goal for West, a great running goal to give her side a three-goal lead heading into the final term.

It was a slow final quarter for both sides, with no goals scored for either side, with West doing enough in the first term to claim its final victory of the season.

Zoe Venning (32 disposals, eight clearances, five tackles), Hannah Button (24 disposals, 12 tackles, five clearances), Ruby Ballard 22 disposals, four tackles) and Campbell (18 disposals, seven tackles) were strong performers for West.

Bates was at her best in her final SANFLW game, notching up 32 disposals, 10 clearances and nine tackles in a vintage performance for the retiring superstar.

Asha Dufour (22 disposals, eight clearances), Georgie Fielder (20 disposals, six tackles) and retiring captain Sam Franson (12 disposals, five marks, eight tackles) were all excellent in Glenelg’s final game of the season.