Round 17 SANFL Snapshot – Saturday

Norwood escaped X Convenience Oval with a thrilling one-point win against a spirited Central District.

Threatening to blow the Bulldogs away after working their way toward an 11-point lead at half-time, the Redlegs were forced to sweat for the premiership points in a pulsating final term.

Suddenly in the box seat to earn a double chance, the visitors – without injured Cory Stockdale in the second half – skipped out to a three-goal advantage when Baynen Lowe kicked truly six minutes into the fourth quarter.

It would be his team’s final score for the game as Paul Thomas’ men came hard with goals to Kyle Presbury and Aidan Grace drawing them within four points nearing time-on.

Promising Central small forward Isaiah Dudley took a clever chest mark but was unable to convert his set shot in the 21st minute.

Dudley soon had another chance to put his side in front but his snap shot didn’t quite make the distance as it was rushed over the line.

Another rushed behind as the Legs were under siege brought the margin to just one behind but the final siren sounded before Central had another opportunity to earn a memorable win.

Norwood midfielder Nik Rokahr was adjudged Coles Value Player for his 32 disposals and 10 tackles while Jay Rantall (30 disposals), Josh Richards (25 disposals) and Declan Hamilton (22 disposals) also found plenty of the ball.

Norwood ruck Harry Boyd was brilliant with his 18 disposals, seven clearances and a goal while unheralded defender Pierce Seymour had 16 possessions and six tackles, one of which was a desperate chase worthy of highlighting in Jade Rawlings’ match review.

Central’s Travis Schiller collected 26 disposals and seven clearances and fellow ball magnet Harry Grant had 20 and five tackles.

Bulldogs Billy Iles (17 disposals, one goal) and Kyle Presbury (16 disposals, one goal) provided ball-carrying across the lines for the hosts.

North Adelaide asserted itself as the outright Hostplus SANFL League premiership favourite by outclassing Glenelg by 51 points at ACH Group Stadium.

Sitting pretty at the top of the table by two premiership points plus percentage, the rampaging Roosters set up their memorable win by booting 6.3 to the Bays’ 1.4 in the second term.

It allowed the visitors to transform a seven-point deficit at the first change into a 22-point lead at half-time as their efficiency proved pivotal in attack.

Despite the sizeable final margin, the Roosters had just four more inside 50m entries and two more clearances as they continued to pile on the scoreboard pressure.

Magarey Medallist Campbell Combe was sensational, his stats sheet telling the story with 26 disposals, eight clearances and an astonishing 20 tackles.

Fellow midfield star Aaron Young finished with 27 disposals, seven marks and two goals while Harrison Wigg had 21 possessions.

North captain Alex Spina made a successful return from concussion with 21 touches while ruckman Mitch Harvey collected 19 disposals and eight clearances.

High-flying North forward Nigel Lockyer kicked four goals while Frank Szekely continued his excellent season with 19 disposals and three goals.

Glenelg wing Matt Allen finished with an equal team high 23 disposals and two goals, while Bays veterans Andrew Bradley and Matt Snook had 19 touches each.

Tiger Brady Searle (1.5) could have influenced the outcome of the match had he kicked straight, working hard for six shots on goal from the midfield while tallying 17 disposals.

A sensational nine-goal opening propelled Sturt to a vital 31-point win against Port Adelaide at Wigan Oval.

Desperate to secure a spot in the top five, the Double Blues went a long way toward sewing up its place in September as it surged two wins ahead of sixth-placed Woodville-West Torrens and three ahead of the seventh-placed Panthers.

Sturt quickly built a 19-point lead after 11 minutes as the hosts got the crowd rocking just two minutes later when popular midfielder Tom Lewis stretched the margin to 25.

Making his long-awaited comeback after a nasty spleen injury, Lewis found space at centre half-forward before finishing nicely on the run from 40m.

Port didn’t break through for a major until its most consistent SANFL-contracted player Nick Moore goaled 21 minutes into the second stanza.

It sparked a four-goal run for the visitors as Orazio Fantasia intercepted and nailed a major before Mitch Georgiades and captain Cam Sutcliffe cut the deficit to 31 points.

But Sturt was able to steady whenever the Magpies surged as Abe Davis and Tom Emmett kicked three goals each.

Double Blues skipper James Battersby led the charge with 25 disposals, nine marks and six tackles while Malachy Carruthers gained touch with 22 disposals and a goal.

Sturt defender Casey Voss tallied 24 disposals and eight marks while Lewis had 20 disposals, five tackles and five clearances to go with his goal upon his return.

Port midfielders Jackson Mead (27 disposals, 11 tackles) and Sam Mayes (25 disposals, eight tackles) worked hard to haul their team back into the game while Sutcliffe had 24 disposals and a goal.

West Adelaide ended South Adelaide’s season with a stirring five-point come-from-behind victory at Hisense Stadium.

Trailing the Panthers by 21 points at three-quarter time, the Bloods engineered a remarkable turnaround to boot 5.4 to the visitors’ 1.2 in the fourth quarter.

Claiming their second win in three starts, West fell behind by as much as 26 points when South’s Nic Kraemer goaled in the fourth minute.

But Josh Gore kicked the first of his two goals within two minutes before Nick Steele did the same thing midway through the final term.

Former Tiger Jackson Edwards goaled on the run after being on the end of a scoring chain before Gore’s second which put West within a point early in time-on.

Former Panther Steele then came back to haunt his old side when he dodged around an opponent and goaled on the run from 30m to put the Bloods in front in the 23rd minute.

West’s Jordon Boyle (33 disposals) and Edwards (31 disposals) were strong contributors but veteran Hamish Hartlett was the most influential with 27 disposals, eight tackles and four clearances.

Experienced South pair Matthew Broadbent and Joseph Haines each chalked up 28 disposals, Haines kicking a nice goal on the run from just inside 50m.

Panthers ruckman Keegan Brooksby worked hard for his 24 disposals and nine clearances while South skipper Matt Rose had 21 disposals and six clearances.