Round 3 Hostplus SANFL Snapshot – Sunday

Sturt ensured it would remain the only unbeaten team in the Hostplus SANFL League after cruising to a 38-point win against Port Adelaide at Wigan Oval.

Banking wins against highly-fancied Glenelg and Norwood in the opening two rounds, the Double Blues were again convincing after piling on 6.2 in the second term while holding the Magpies to just 1.3 to open up a 34-point lead at half-time.

From there, the hosts stretched the margin to as much as 50 points on the back of Steven Slimming’s goal 17 minutes into the fourth term as they reaped the rewards of having 10 more clearances and nine more inside 50s.

Sturt’s deep midfield rotation was far too strong for the visitors as Patrick Wilson (28 disposals, 10 tackles, seven clearances) looms as an early favourite for the Magarey Medal with his influential play around the ground while hitting the scoreboard for two goals.

Former Power-listed speedster Marty Frederick enjoyed playing against his old side, racking up a game-high 30 disposals and four marks while Sturt midfield bulls James Battersby (24 disposals, six clearances) and Tom Lewis (22 disposals, 17 tackles) controlled the centre square.

Any concerns about Sturt kicking a winning score this season have been put to rest so far, with plenty of options bobbing up in the opening three rounds.

Against the Pies, Lachlan Burrows and James Richards booted three goals each while Jared Dakin and James Mathews also kicked a pair, together with the difference-making Wilson.

Port hadn’t won at Unley since Rd 19 of 2019 and that streak continued after going down a rotation after quarter-time as key forward Mitch Georgiades was stretchered off with a knee concern in the second term.

Trent Dumont battled hard against the tide in the midfield to finish with 26 disposals, eight clearances and a goal while Riley Bonner and Jackson Mead both collected 20 possessions and a goal each.

West Adelaide had been building under new coach Adam Hartlett.

And after two spirited losses to open the Hostplus SANFL League this year, the Bloods broke through for a rare victory, outclassing South Adelaide by 22-point at Hisense Stadium.

West’s victory was built on the back of a sensational seven-goal second term as Hartlett’s charges used the ball handsomely by foot to turn a 12-point quarter-time deficit into a 26-point half-time advantage.

A lacklustre South got within 15 points when tall utility Damon Freitag kicked truly on the verge of three-quarter time but the hosts were able to answer every challenge much to the delight of the rowdy red-and-black faithful.

West goalsneak Josh Gore celebrated hard after soccering his effort on the goalline while teammate Lucas Meline calmly put his side up by 29 points in the ninth minute of the final term.

Emerging Bloods talent Michael Laudato, sporting a head bandage, launched the sealer when he let fly from just inside 50m on a tough angle nearing time-on.

But the best was yet to come for the home fans who began chanting ”Westies” as their team won the final centre clearance of the match, which resulted in a mark to 2015 premiership favourite Jono Beech.

As Beech lined up his fourth goal of the game, the final siren sounded much to the delight of Hartlett and his coaching staff as Beech nailed his set shot to get the party started.

West defender Callum Park was outstanding with his ball use as he tallied 33 disposals and eight marks while teammates Mitch Maguire (28 disposals), Michael Mattingly (23 disposals) and Tom Morrish (20 disposals) continue to mature nicely.

Beech’s four goals were critical from his 13 disposals and seven marks while Kane Sherlock continues to enjoy a positive start to his League career in defence for the Bloods.

South Magarey Medallist Bryce Gibbs led the way on the stats sheet with 35 disposals and nine clearances while fellow midfielder Mitch O’Neill worked hard for 31 disposals, nine clearances and nine tackles.

Panthers forward Zachery Sproule made the most of limited opportunities to boot four goals straight from nine disposals and five marks.