Round 9 Hostplus SANFL Snapshot – Saturday

Adelaide kept its composure to stage a stunning comeback whilst earning a dramatic one-point win against South Adelaide at Magain Stadium.

Trailing by as much as 39 points early into the third quarter, the Crows managed just one goal in the first half yet turned the tables with a noticeable shift in gameplan which overwhelmed the young Panthers.

Adelaide coach Matthew Wright had his charges play more directly after half-time and paid dividends right up until the dying minutes as the visitors crept across the line in their 200th Hostplus SANFL League outing.

South’s Charlie Duncan had his free kick smothered causing a turnover, Crow Blake Drury kicked long to teammate Chris Burgess who snapped from the boundary and had his shot ushered across the line by Lachie Murphy.

It certainly wasn’t a pretty behind but nothing was attractive about this win for Adelaide after it hit the front in the 26th minute of the final term.

Finishing with 11 more inside 50s, the Crows had Charlie Edwards and Lachie Sholl lead the way with 25 disposals each while Murphy had 22 touches and a long goal from 50m in the opening half.

Former Panther Sid Draper made the most of his full game time with 19 disposals and a crucial snap goal last in the final quarter for the Crows while Luke Nankervis was solid with 19 disposals, seven marks and a major.

Brayden Cook looked lively while kicking his two goals for Adelaide.

South’s Elliot Dunkin collected a game-high 26 disposals while Oliver Davis and Charlie Duncan both chalked up 25 disposals.

South co-captain Sam Skinner was switched forward to make a positive impact, which he did with two goals, including an eye-catching spin move out of the ruck.

Woodville-West Torrens rolled up its sleeves to outwork Central District for a hard-fought 38-point win at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval. 

Desperate to rebound from their worst performance for the season in losing to North last round, the Eagles responded by shocking the Bulldogs with a match-defining first quarter.

Kicking the first five goals of the game in extremely windy conditions, the hosts had effectively shut the visitors out of the contest with a 30-point lead when Zac Buck kicked truly in the second minute of the second term.

”We pride ourselves as a blue-collar team and we showed that today,” Eagles’ James Rowe, the X Golf Player of the Day, said on Channel 7 after the match.

”Everyone played their role and that win will set us up for the second half of the year.”

Not only did the Eagles dominate possession with 70 more disposals, they crunched the Bulldogs defensively by laying 96 tackles to 56.

And all of this came with a busy casualty ward on the interchange bench after veteran midfielder Riley Knight strained his hamstring in the second term, Kade Herbert left the ground clutching his neck and shoulder and Bailey Hann looked proppy after a heavy knock in the last term.

Rowe thrived in the conditions to rack up 31 disposals, 11 clearances, six tackles and a goal from long range to be the Eagles’ best while Kobe Mutch displayed plenty of courage in the air while collecting 25 disposals, seven clearances and 11 tackles.

Max Beattie registered 26 disposals off half-back while veterans Sam Rowland (21 disposals, one goal) and skipper Joey Sinor (19 disposals, nine clearances and seven tackles) also had big influences on the win for the Eagles.

Key forward Daniel Sladojevic, who earned the Powerade Breakthrough Player award last round, continued his promising form with three goals while Eagles’ teammate Connor Ballenden made a welcome return from injury with two majors.

Central’s leading disposal-winner was Luca Whitelum with 22 disposals while Kade Dittmar showed off his desperation in collecting 20 disposals and a goal before leaving the field with the blood rule after his collision with Hann late in the match.

Bulldog Jai Larkins was his team’s only multiple goal kicker with two, one of them a classy checkside finish on the run.