Round 4 Hostplus SANFL Snapshot – Anzac Day

A stunning second-half surge from Glenelg superstar Lachie Hosie has propelled his team to a 43-point victory against Norwood in the Anzac Day clash at Stratarama Stadium.

Already with two premiership medallions, a Ken Farmer Medal and a Jack Oatey Medal, Hosie added to his bulging trophy cabinet by booting eight goals without a miss to be an extremely fitting winner of the Bob Quinn Medal for best afield.

The Bays’ human highlight reel rattled on seven goals after half-time, including four in the Tigers’ final-term flurry which yielded 8.4 to the Redlegs’ 2.1.

After struggling to find fluency in the first half in the absence of captain Liam McBean (ankle), suddenly the Tigers clicked into gear.

It was a stunning display in front of a bumper crowd of 6042, with the majority being the Brighton Road faithful delighted their side was now sitting with a 3-1 win-loss record inside the top five.

This time last year, the Bays were on the end of a stinging defeat from Sturt. But there was plenty of spirit shown by the hosts in the first half as last year’s runner-up provided plenty of fight to trail by just four points at the final change.

Glenelg’s class and experience provide decisive in the end though, racking up 13 more inside 50s, nine more clearances and 16 more marks to control the tempo.

And Darren Reeves’ men showed plenty of intent to apply defensive pressure, leading the tackle count 83 to 64 as Ben Ridgway racked up 14 while James Bell and Cole Gerloff had seven each.

Glenelg’s Corey Lyons, in similar fashion to 2023 Grand Final when Hosie won the Jack Oatey Medal, was forced to play second fiddle despite producing an influential effort which yielded 24 disposals, three goals and five clearances.

Bell had 24 touches and seven clearances while Matt Allen produced a classy finish on the run from just inside 50m to go with his 21 disposals and 10 marks.

Norwood premiership pair Nik Rokahr (31 disposals, six clearances) and Jacob Kennerley (29 disposals) were tireless in trying to keep up with the Bays, the Legs skipper booting a clever goal after a baulk in the second term.

Redleg Mitch O’Neill had 24 disposals and two goals while Matt Ling and Cooper Murley found the Sherrin in the back half with 23 touches each.

The Legs, now laden with an 0-4 win-loss record, will be hoping Tom McCallum recovers positively after being helped from the field by trainers three minutes into the fourth term.

Central District proved its free-wheeling style of football is here to stay after upstaging Port Adelaide by 46 points at X Convenience Oval.

Less than a week after booting their highest score in close to a decade, the Bulldogs were at it again against the Magpies, tallying 17.8 (110).

The foundation for the admirable performance on Anzac Day came from a first-term blitz which yielded 6.3 while restricting the visitors to just one behind.

Paul Thomas’ men set the tone early to lead the inside 50 count 17-8 in first term and 22-14 at half-time.

The hosts’ also had nine more clearances and 16 more marks in first half as inform midfielder Mani Liddy continued his red-hot form with 20 touches and six clearances at half-time, before finishing with 26 and seven for the afternoon.

Improving Bulldog Luca Whitelum impressed with 21 disposals while Harry Grant (20 disposals, eight tackles), Kai Pudney (18 disposals, two goals) and Zach Adams (17 disposals, eight marks) also had an influence.

Central’s livewire forward Jake Gasper racked up 20 disposals and two goals while Nick Lange and Beau Thomas hit the scoreboard with four majors each.

Port didn’t leave the Ponderosa without hope, however, as key forward draftee Jack Whitlock kicked an eye-catching left-foot goal on the run before taking a contender for Mark of the Year with a strong pack grab in the goal square.

Whitlock finished with three goals while Will Lorenz tallied 23 disposals and a major while half-backs Josh Lai and Logan Evans had 20 disposals apiece.

Marquee SANFL signing Jack Watkins continued his consistent touch with a game-high 31 disposals and four clearances for the Magpies.