The Redlegs and Bulldogs remain undefeated following gritty wins, the Crows made it a showdown double and the Eagles fought out a tough win over Sturt.
Read all about it in this week's SANFL wrap.
Adelaide Crows 16.7.(103) def Port Adelaide 8.14.(62)
Adelaide claimed showdown bragging rights with a 41-point triumph over cross-town rival Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Thursday.
Played as a curtain-raiser to the AFL showdown, which the Crows also won, a large crowd over several thousand fans were in attendance by the end of the game as fans filtered in for the AFL match.ย
Much like the AFL game that followed, Port Adelaide were wasteful in front of goal while the Crows made every post a winner, getting off to a fast start and never looking like losing.
Adelaide kicked 10 of the first 11 goals and led by as much as 64 points midway through the third term.
The Crows' ascendency started in the midfield, with Adelaide's onballers afforded plenty of space to break away from stoppage and set up dangerous attacking forays.
Harry Schoenberg played a full game as he continues to recover from an Achilles injury, racking up 27 disposals, four clearances and seven inside 50s in a clinical midfield display.
Sam Berry also staked his claim for an AFL recall with 21 disposals and five clearances, while Billy Dowling continues to emerge as a midfield option at the next level with 25 disposals and eight clearances.
James Borlase was superb down back, dominating the aerial contests to help repel many of Port Adelaide's forward forays while also holding key forward Tom Scully to a single goal.
At the other end, Lachie Gollant booted five first-half goals as he marked everything in his area and provided the potency that Port Adelaide lacked in their own forward half.
Chris Burgess put in another solid performance in booting three goals, serving as an important marking target inside 50.
Magpies' captain Nick Moore was tireless in his efforts, finishing with 21 disposals, six clearances and a remarkable 20 tackles.
Cody Szust is relishing his time in the midfield, collecting 32 disposals and six clearances, while Aiden Turner was a solid contributor with 18 disposals and four clearances.
Tall forward/ruckman Jeremy Finlayson made his return from suspension through the SANFL, kicking four goals and also playing higher up the field to amass a team-high nine inside 50s.
Josh Sinn again put his hand up for AFL consideration, providing run and dash off half-back with 29 disposals and six rebound 50s.
North Adelaide 8.11.(59) def by Norwood 10.7.(67)
Norwood continued its hot start to the season with a gritty eight-point win over North Adelaide at Prospect Oval on Saturday.
It was all one-way traffic early, with Norwood kicking the first four goals of the contest to take a 26-point lead after 21 minutes.
North soon settled and started to even things up around the ball, kicking four consecutive goals of their own to get the margin back to four points during the second term.
Despite mounting several challenges throughout the day, North were never able to capture the lead, as Norwood steadied at every stage.
After struggling with goalkicking accuracy in recent weeks, Norwood straightened up in front of the sticks and were beneficiaries of North's wayward goalkicking.
On the charge and with Norwood under enormous pressure in the third term, North Adelaide kicked 2.7 to hand the Redlegs a crucial lifeline that would prove costly.
The Roosters continued to push in the last quarter, but the Norwood defence held up stoically, standing up to the pressure and ensuring that North's ball movement was scrappy and stagnant.
After defending almost exclusively for the entire last quarter and with the game going down to the wire, Norwood were afforded one chance to ice the game and took it.
Moving the ball from end to end, the ball ended with Jake Creswell, who nailed the set shot and kicked the sealer.
Harry Boyd continued his stellar start to the season, claiming 45 hitouts, nine clearances and a goal as he claimed the points in his ruck duel with North's Liam Hoy.
With captain Jacob Kennerley a late out, Baynen Lowe pushed into the midfield and put in a sterling performance to amass 26 disposals, five clearances and a goal.
Key recruits Mitch O'Neill and Billy Cootee were also influential in the midfield, picking up six clearances and over 20 disposals each.
Tom Donnerley and Jack Heard were crucial contributors down back, combining for 15 rebound 50s as they continually repelled North Adelaide's attacking onslaughts.
Up forward, Xavier Tranfa came in for his first game of the season and was a lively threat inside 50 with three goals and eight marks.
Connor McLean again provided a strong marking target in the forward line and brought his kicking boots with him this week to finish with a pair of majors.
Magarey medallist Campbell Combe was outstanding for the Roosters, claiming 28 disposals, 11 clearances and 15 tackles in a searing midfield display.
He was well supported by the dangerous Harrison Wigg, who found plenty of footy all over the ground to finish with 26 touches and seven inside 50s.
Ruckman Mitch Harvey's switch to the forward line continues to reap rewards, with Harvey kicking three goals and taking three towering contested marks as he gave the Norwood defence plenty of headaches.
Roosters captain Alex Spina enjoyed another strong performance to start the year, amassing 20 disposals and seven rebound 50s as he marshalled the defence expertly.
West Adelaide 6.9.(45) def by Central District 9.12.(66)
Central District maintained their undefeated start to the 2024 season with a hard-fought 21-point win over West Adelaide at Richmond Oval on Saturday.
Sitting on top of the ladder and enjoying their best start to a season since 2009, the Bulldogs had the extra class and experience when it mattered to hold off a gallant Westies outfit.
After a scrappy first quarter in which only two goals were kicked, the Dogs were able to put a gap in the game across the second and third terms, booting seven goals to two in this time to take a 35-point lead into the last break.
Central were more clinical in the moments that mattered and took advantage of every West Adelaide mistake, highlighted by a crucial goal from Aiden Grace that was the result of debutant Jack Callinan's good work to force a turnover in the middle of the ground.
West Adelaide made one last push to start the final quarter, kicking the first three goals to bring the margin within 14 points at the 10-minute mark.
Under significant pressure from a surging West Adelaide, Central were able to hold their nerve and stifle the Bloods' momentum late, running out the clock to record an important victory.
Midfield dynamo Harry Grant was once again a key contributor for the Bulldogs, finishing with 23 disposals, eight clearances and 10 tackles as he continually won important contests all over the ground.
Western Australian recruit Kade Dittmar played his best game to date for Central, while Mani Liddy's work through the midfield was also an important factor in the win.
With increasing depth through the midfield, captain Jarrod Schiller was able to spend more time forward, kicking three goals including the sealer.
Grace and Nick Lange were both lively in the forward half, booting two goals each as they proved a constant threat.
Woodville-West Torrens recruit Kai Pudney has hit the ground running in his new colours, locking down his wing and finding 18 disposals.
Brady Seale stood tall in the midfield, winning five clearances from 19 disposals while Jesse Thackeray continues to develop as a solid midfielder, finding three clearances and four inside 50s.
Liam Delahunty picked up from where he left off last week, kicking another three goals and proving a headache for the Bulldogs' defence, which was best exemplified by his outstanding one-handed mark in the goal square in the second quarter.
Will Patton put in another eye-catching performance that will have AFL recruiters taking notice, amassing 19 disposals and eight inside 50s, while Sam Frost also played a solid game down back with 21 disposals and five rebound 50s.
South Adelaide 6.7.(43) def by Glenelg 9.16.(70)
Glenelg fought out a scrappy but important 27-point win over South Adelaide that keeps them ahead of the ledger after five rounds.
Playing far from their best football, it took until the final quarter for Glenelg to finally shake off a gallant Panthers outfit after inaccuracy in front of goal dogged them for the entire game.
The Tigers finished with 17 more inside 50s and 14 more clearances, but could only manage 9.16 after a first term that saw them have twice as many shots but trail by six points at quarter time.
Glenelg's attack, which is currently missing reigning Ken Farmer medallist Lachie Hosie, looked clunky, with stagnant ball movement and uncharacteristic turnovers making it difficult to put a score on the board.
Despite this, the sheer weight of numbers in Glenelg's favour eventually won out, with James Bell and Hugh Stagg chipping in with two goals each to save the visitors' blushes.
Bell has been a shining light for the Tigers to start this season, finishing with 20 disposals and five clearances after spending more time on-ball.
Matthew Allen played arguably his best game of the season to date, finding 27 disposals, 15 marks, six inside 50s and five shots on goal - the only blemish was he kicked 1.4.
Matthew Snook was his usual dependable self, collecting 28 disposals to go with nine tackles and seven clearances, while Corey Lyons also played well to earn 23 disposals and a goal.
Jonty Scharenberg and Chris Curran were important down back, both amassing above 20 disposals as key distributors out of defence.
Perhaps the biggest positive of the day for Glenelg was the performance of its three debutants, Jake Walker, Hunter Window and Will Stockman.
Stockman provided some much-needed relief in the ruck with 18 hitouts, while Walker was a standout with his seven clearances and breakaway speed from the stoppages to go with his first league goal.
Despite sitting last with a 0-5 record to start the year, there were plenty of positives to take away for South Adelaide, especially from their crop of young emerging talent.
Ollie Davis continues to stand up as a key cog in the Panthers' midfield, collecting 28 disposals and six inside 50s, while Jonti Schuback is looking assured in defence in just his second league season, finishing with 17 disposals and six inside 50s.
Young key forward Noah Howes was finally able to put his good work on the scoreboard, booting three goals including a freak snap from the boundary line in the second quarter, showing his ability at ground level as well as in the air.
Ruckman Ollie Megins played his best game at league level and is relishing the opportunity created by Keegan Brooskby's retirement, racking up 19 disposals, 32 hitouts and seven clearances.
These inexperienced players were backed up by their more seasoned teammates, with Hayden Sampson collecting 24 disposals and four clearances, while Jake Summerton and Sam Skinner were crucial in holding Glenelg forwards Liam McBean and Luke Reynolds to just one goal.
Sturt 11.9.(75) def by Woodville-West Torrens 12.11.(83)
Woodville-West Torrens clinched an important two points against Sturt in one of the games of the season so far at Unley Oval on Sunday.
A high-quality affair between two of the league's best outfits, the game was dominated by wild shifts in momentum, with both sides enjoying patches of unanswered goals throughout.
Kicking against a strong breeze in the first quarter, the Eagles fought well to take a 13-point lead into quarter time.
They extended their lead to 31 points in the second quarter after four consecutive goals as they threatened to run away with the contest.
Two late goals from Sturt to end the term helped to arrest the momentum, before a six-goal onslaught from the Double Blues in the third saw them take a 13-point lead at the final break.
With last use of the breeze, the Eagles kicked the last four goals of the contest to storm home and claim a crucial eight-point win that keeps them in touch with undefeated Norwood and Central District.
With both teams looking potent in attack and able to convert their periods of dominance on the scoreboard, it was the Eagles' midfield that separated the game, winning six more clearances and inside 50s across the afternoon.
James Rowe enjoyed another superb outing, finding 25 disposals and 2.3 including a trademark miraculous snap facing the boundary line from 40 metres out.
Skipper Joe Sinor was tough around the ball as always, amassing 25 disposals, 11 tackles and eight clearances in a brutal display of football.
Emerging midfield star Adam D'Aloia continued his hot start to the season, finishing with 28 disposals, 11 tackles and six clearances, while Luke McKay played another sterling game for his new club, racking up 24 disposals, 11 tackles and a goal.
Key forward Connor Ballenden played a crucial role in the win with his four goals, including two in the first quarter when the Eagles needed to take every chance going against the breeze.
At the other end, Luke Beecken and Josh Morris provided plenty of drive from half-back, both collecting above 20 disposals and combining for nine rebound 50s.
For Sturt, Will Snelling was again the standout and was hugely influential in the Double Blues' third quarter surge, finishing with 38 disposals, five clearances, nine inside 50s and a goal.
Playing his 200th SANFL league game, captain James Battersby battled away in the clinches, claiming 19 disposals, five clearances and nine tackles in his milestone match.
Connor McFadyen was an important marking target ahead of the ball and contributed to majors to the total, while Casey Voss racked up the footy at half-back and was the ignitor of many of Sturt's attacking forays.
