Round 4 Hostplus SANFL League Match Previews

The big guns from last season both suffered losses last week – but their circumstances contrasted strongly.

Reigning premier Glenelg had won its first two games and fell just short in a grandstand finish against the high-flying Crows.

With a bumper holiday crowd of 5231, the high-quality, free-flowing contest and cracking finish were everything we love about SANFL footy.

Last year’s runner-up Norwood went into its clash with old rival Sturt having lost its first two games and came up 41 points short, trailing all night.

Now it’s a day about the Diggers and the Redlegs will have to dig deep on this hugely significant day on the Australian calendar.

At 0-3 and with clashes looming against the reigning back-to-back premier then Adelaide, Norwood could be heading down the path of the 2023 season when, having won the previous year’s grand final, it lost the first eight games.

There was no question of the Legs’ intensity or passion against Sturt and they had plenty of the ball (349 disposals to 328, although Sturt’s close-in pressure forced a fair amount of hurried handball).

And when their game came together early in the third quarter in a six-minute spell they banged on three goals, the home crowd starting to make some noise as it looked like an injury-ravaged start to the season may be getting back on track.

The noisy crowd at the Bay – and there’s certain to be another ripper turnout for Anzac Day – always knew the Bays were in it up to their eyeballs.

This Glenelg side may have ended up four points short of Adelaide but this is a seriously good football side. The Lyons brothers are thriving on playing together, while Luke Partington is back as good as ever and Jonty Scharenberg just keeps on getting better.

But there is some good news for Legs fans who will have little trouble remembering last year’s grand final. Tigers giant Liam McBean, who won the Jack Oatey Medal with a matchwinning seven goals, will be missing this time with an ankle injury.

It’s great to see SANFL sides taking up the attack and kicking big scores.

Coach Paul Thomas had his Bulldogs working hard over summer “to get better bang for our buck going inside 50” and they could hardly have been more explosive than they were in what had looked like a tough test away to North Adelaide.

The Dogs’ score of 23.9 (147) was their highest for nine years as they romped to a statement-making 76-point win, showing they have plenty more to offer than gritty defensive pressure and a desperation to fight every game out to the finish.

With fluent ball movement they bagged seven goals in the first quarter, six in the third and seven in the last and seven players – Aiden Grace (four), Beau Thomas, Mani Liddy and Jake Gasper (three) and Nick Lange, Luca Whitelum and Jack Tomkinson (two) – booted multiple goals. Beau Thomas and Liddy have been revelations over the past year-and-a-half, stepping up to become integral parts of the Bulldogs’ push towards their next flag.

Liddy had arguably been Central’s best up to three-quarter-time, then he added scoreboard pressure to his game.

He gathered the ball, spun around out of trouble, and booted a long goal from 50m to kick off the last quarter, later adding a long goal on the run before snapping an under-pressure miracle.

Midfielders Harry Grant (30 disposals, seven clearances), Kade Dittmar (12 clearances) and ruckman Kobe Annand also were huge.

It was the first time the Dogs had topped 20 goals since booting 21.11 against the Crows in 2018 and Thomas declared: “We felt that type of performance wasn’t far away, that we could move the ball like that if we got going.”

Hamish Hartlett would have felt similarly going into last week’s clash with South. And it all came together for Port Adelaide in a matchwinning third-quarter blitz when it banged on eight straight goals in a 21-point breakthrough win at Alberton.

A three-bounce running goal from Jack Watkins highlighted how good attacking footy can look and he finished a big night in the spotlight with 36 disposals and seven clearances.

Skipper Nick Moore got on the scoreboard in a big way with four straight majors, while Dante Visentini again was a big influence with 21 disposals, 25 hit-outs and a goal.

In a good sign, Port topped 100 points for the first time this year after doing it only once last season – with 103 points in the Round 17 win against the Eagles.

This match-up is crucial for these sides that each have one win from three games and are looking to bounce back from losses on the Easter weekend.

The Panthers were highly competitive against Port Adelaide at Alberton but the game slipped away in the third quarter before falling 21 points short.

Having more inside-50s (46-45) and just one less scoring shot showed how around the mark they were and this home clash will feel like there’s the chance to get some reward for effort.

But the Roosters will be desperate on two counts. Firstly, of course, to show their 76-point home hammering at the hands of Central was an aberration and, secondly, to honour great clubman Mitch Harvey in his 200th game.

They will need to follow the example set by boom WAFL recruit Angus Schumacher, who collected 23 disposals, seven clearances and two goals against the odds against the Bulldogs and is averaging 26 disposals and nine clearances in his debut season.

But South Adelaide’s Oliver Davis will be looking to grab hold of the Sherrin first.

He did plenty of that as he stood up to the test of Alberton Oval, showing what a strong ball-winner he is in earning 13 clearances.

The Tasmanian who spent the 2021 season with the Crows’ SANFL team, picked up 28 disposals and will be looking to help snare a second South win for the season.

These sides come in with winning form but it’s the Crows who are starting to look a little scary – a win at Glenelg as good as it gets these days.

While the Eagles have had solid wins against Norwood and West after an injury-hit team was pipped by a point by Central in the season opener, Adelaide has rattled off wins against West, North and now the Tigers.

The Crows led at every change at the Bay, and by as many as 18 points in the last quarter before, perhaps most satisfying for coach Matt Wright, showing resilience to fend off a fierce late Glenelg rally, Brayden Cook booting an academic behind after the final siren after snaring a calm, game-saving mark at the death.

The centre-square partnership of towering Lachlan McAndrew (51 hit-outs) and tough Blake Drury (25 disposals and nine clearances and described by Wright as “the ultimate professional”) continues to set the Crows on their way and they could even afford to concede the first three goals of the game but remain clean and composed in a win that sends a clear warning of intent.

There was an even spread of contributors, with 10 goalkickers and 10 players with 15 or more disposals.

The Eagles are just quietly going about their business, as you might expect of a side coached by Sam Jacobs.

They dominated much of the clash with West at Richmond, leading by as many as 62 points midway through the final quarter before finishing up 38 points to the good on Good Friday.

James Rowe (28 disposals and a goal) and Zane Williams (25 disposals and a goal) provided plenty of energy and the sort of speed Jacobs wants to set games alight.

Their ability to score off turnover was something that kept the coach happy, now he is looking to convert “playing good footy in patches” into strong four-quarter performances. You reckon that’s what they will need against the Crows.

If you had a strange feeling something’s not quite right at the first bounce last Thursday at The Parade you were right – skipper James Battersby was missing for the first time in 150 Sturt games.

It’s hard to think it could be the case but he was hardly missed. Will Snelling, Tom Lewis and Mitch Crowden stepped up with such dominant midfield performances the Blues won the clearances 48-29, the inside-50s 59-32 and more than doubled Norwood’s score – 12.9 to 6.4.

Those numbers were all good. But Snelling’s numbers were simply staggering – 40 disposals and 20 tackles, oh, and eight clearances. The Sturt FC Facebook page described him as “putting up PlayStation numbers”.

Lewis shrugged would-be tacklers, crashed through contests and set Sturt in motion time and again with 14 clearances, while Crowden collected 32 touches.

And the longer the night went the better the Blues swept the ball into attack, their forward cohesion clicking into gear as they charged to a 3-0 start to the season.

The numbers were huge for Sturt. But they aren’t great for 0-3 West. Particularly against the Blues, who have staggeringly won the past 18 match-ups between these sides.

The Bloods haven’t beaten them since their premiership season a decade ago.

Westies coach Adam Hartlett was playing for them back then but the only player out on the ground this week who has played in a West win against Sturt is Sturt Magarey Medallist Snelling.

He was five days short of turning 18 but he was already pretty good. He had 29 touches in the Bloods’ 58-point win at Richmond in 2015.