Round 3 Hostplus SANFLW League Match Wraps

By WARREN PARTLAND

Glenelg midfielder Jessica Bates showcased her immense talents to inspire the Tigers to an emphatic 42-point Hostplus SANFLW triumph over Central District at X Convenience Oval.

Bates amassed 34 possessions, as well as registering eight clearances and eight tackles, in a supreme performance as the Tigers tore a depleted Bulldogs outfit apart.

The Tigers dominated hitouts, clearances and visits inside attacking 50 after stamping their authority on the contest in the first quarter with a five-goal haul.

Bates set the tone from the outset, nailing a goal less than two minutes into the game. Her teammates continually took the ball out of the stoppages and moved the ball effectively to have the Bulldogs’ defence under constant pressure.

The Tigers added another two goals in the second quarter, while restricting the Bulldogs to a single behind for the first half.

The third term belonged to Bulldogs forward Sophie Eaton, who kicked four goals for the quarter. The fourth goal was just reward for a tremendous smother and accurate kick.

But the Tigers, with Jasmin Stewart and Violet Patterson having an influence, bagged three goals without an answer in the final term.

Last year’s beaten grand finalist South Adelaide shrugged off two defeats to start the season to claim a convincing 48-point victory over North Adelaide at Flinders University Stadium.

The Panthers, led by classy Nikki Nield on the ball and three goals from Emily Brockhurst, had too much ammunition to secure the valuable premiership points.

The Roosters have lost all three games this season and the disappointing outing was further soured by a nasty injury for Jemma Whitington-Charity, who was stretchered from the field in the first quarter and will have scans to determine the damage to her knee.

A massive positive for the Roosters was the return of Brianna Arthur from an ACL injury and she soccered a goal four minutes into the game to give the visitors the lead.

However, the Panthers responded immediately when Brockhurst goalled, the first of four unanswered goals in the first quarter. Debutant Emma Charlton kicked the second of those goals.

After a goalless second term, Brockhurst kicked the only two goals of the third quarter to put the home side in a commanding position.

In fact, the Roosters failed to add to the goal tally after Arthur’s early major.

West Adelaide has matched its win tally from the previous two seasons to join Glenelg as the only unbeaten sides after three rounds.

The Bloods, who had just one win in 2022 and two last year when hard hit by injury, conquered Sturt by 11 points at Hisense Stadium to further enhance their title credentials.

This was a win consistent with the Bloods in their previous two weeks.

Ball magnet Zoe Venning again got her hands to plenty of possessions, as well as providing an abundance of defensive work, enthusiastic Lauren Young was a dangerous weapon in attack, and the tremendous team work ethic was a constant.

Emma Kilpatrick gave the Bloods the momentum with a brilliant individual effort just two minutes into the contest. After intercepting a handball from the Double Blues’ defenders, Kilpatrick nailed the goal from 48m.

The Double Blues registered a single behind in the scrappy first quarter and were under the pump when Young kicked the Bloods’ third goal early in the second term.

But with India Rasheed having her usual heavy influence, the Double Blues put themselves well and truly back in the contest with goals to Georgia Swan and Monique Bessen.

The Bloods were not going to let the premiership points slip, however, and they kept persisting.

Woodville-West Torrens has opened its winning account for the season after conquering Norwood by five points in a competitive confrontation at Thebarton Oval.

Accuracy proved decisive for the Eagles, having five less scoring attempts, but registering only one behind.

The season debut of last year’s Eagles best and fairest winner Shineah Goody, drafted by Port Adelaide, was crucial in the victory. Goody accumulated 20 disposals and finished with a whopping 14 tackles.

Poppy Waterford also had a huge impact for the Eagles, being the side’s highest possession winner with 22 and showing her list for defensive work with 14 tackles.

The two sides matched strides in the opening quarter, before the Eagles grabbed the front-running in the second term with goals from Grace Martin and McKenzie Dowrick. The Eagles burst clear in the third quarter to secure a well-deserved win after a highly competitive start to the season.

Sachi Syme was a driving force for the Redlegs with her 20 possessions, including six clearances.