Port Adelaide took a brutal hiding from the Roosters, the Eagles celebrated their milestone men in style and Norwood became the only undefeated team in going top of the ladder.
Read all about it in this week's SANFL wrap.
Norwood 10.12.(72) def Adelaide Crows 7.12.(54)
Norwood continued its unbeaten start to the season with a scrappy 18-point win over Adelaide at Norwood Oval on Friday night.
Not able to shake the gallant Crows until late in the last term, Norwood were tested all night but had the answers at every turn.
It was another defensive masterclass from the Redlegs, who have by far the best points against record this season in conceding only 48 points per game across the first six weeks.
Their pressure on the Adelaide ball carrier was extreme and denied the Crows any fluent ball movement, resulting in just 36 inside 50s compared to Norwood's 62 as the ball was often locked at the Redlegs' end for long periods of play.
The unheralded Tom Donnerley was excellent down back, locking down on Adelaide's Lachie Gollant and making life difficult for the talented Crow, while Pierce Seymour was ever-reliable and took several crucial intercept marks early in the contest.
Matthew Ling was damaging off half-back, racking up 24 disposals while also putting some time into Adelaide small forward Lachie Murphy and restricting him to one goal.
Mitch O'Neill and Billy Cootee led the way in the midfield again, with their cleanliness and tearaway pace from stoppages causing plenty of headaches for the Crows.
Baynen Lowe played another full game in the midfield and is relishing the opportunity, amassing 24 disposals and eight clearances, with his combination of speed and smarts serving him well.
After dominating the early part of the season in ruck, Harry Boyd was locked in a fascinating ruck duel with Kieran Strachan, who made life difficult for Boyd at the stoppages and worked around the ground to take several important marks in defence.
Despite receiving some extra attention from some of the Crows midfielders off the ball, Boyd still came out on top, finishing with 47 hitouts and eight clearances.
Connor McLean put in another solid performance up forward, taking full advantage of his match-up on young Crows' defender Jarman Sigal to kick two goals and be a constant threat inside 50.
Finn Heard continues to develop nicely as an important utility for the Redlegs, kicking two goals while also pushing further up the ground to contest the ruck when needed.
There were plenty of positives for Crows' supporters to take away from the night, including the form of Harry Schoenberg, who must be in AFL calculations after picking up 23 disposals and eight clearances in another powerful display.
Billy Dowling played another impressive game in the midfield to finish with 22 disposals, five clearances, eight tackles and a goal in an eye-catching display.
Speedster Will Hamill was a key contributor for the Crows, collecting 25 disposals at half back as he took the game on and added some much-needed flair to Adelaide's ball movement.
James Borlase was superb under significant pressure in the Crows' backline, all but blanketing Redlegs key forward Jackson Callow and reading the play well to take several intercept marks in the final term that kept his team in the game.
Central District 6.5.(41) def by Sturt 11.10.(76)
Sturt handed Central District their first loss of 2024 with a commanding 35-point win at Elizabeth on Saturday.
Remarkably, the Double Blues have now won their past 10 games at Elizabeth and haven't lost at the venue since 2015.
The Bulldogs' newfound attacking prowess was completely stifled by the Blues, who restricted Centrals to their lowest score of the season in conceding just six goals for the match.
Four of those majors were in the first quarter, in which they took full advantage of their limited opportunities as Wilson Barry and Jake Gasper both converted difficult shots.
Taking an eight-point lead into quarter time, the Dogs managed only two goals for the rest of the game, going goalless for 47 minutes across the second and third terms.
State defender Will Coomblas was excellent in holding the dangerous Aiden Grace to just four disposals and no goals, while emerging defender Zac Becker also kept his opponent Nick Lange goalless.
Will Snelling continued his white-hot form to start the season, leading the Sturt midfield brigade in collecting 22 disposals, nine clearances and a mammoth 18 tackles.
Jared Dakin was also pivotal around the contest, racking up 24 disposals and eight clearances, while new recruit Sam Conforti played his best game for the Double Blues with three goals from 18 disposals.
James Mathews was a welcome inclusion for Sturt after missing three weeks with concussion, kicking three goals of his own and also pushing up the ground to be a crucial link player.
Key forward Connor McFadyen was a constant presence in attack, while Josh Hone could have had a massive day if not for inaccuracy, kicking 0.4 as he caused chaos with his ability both in the air and at ground level.
Central District were no doubt cruelled by the late omission of Harry Grant with a hamstring complaint, with the Bulldogs unable to match Sturt's ball-winning ability at the coalface.
Kai Pudney spent more time around the ball and collected 24 disposals and six clearances, while Kade Dittmar did much of the bullocking work to finish with five clearances while also spending time onย Snelling.
Port Adelaide 5.5.(35) def by North Adelaide 18.11.(119
North Adelaide took the chance to build some crucial percentage and even their season ledger at 3-3 with a massive 84-point win over Port Adelaide at Alberton.
The Roosters feasted on an inexperienced Magpies line-up missing ruckman Dante Visentini, Josh Sinn and captain Nick Moore, which now sits at the bottom of the SANFL ladder with a 0-6 record.
North were able to put their attacking capabilities on full display, monstering the Magpies at the stoppages to win clearances 33-21 and inside 50s 62-27.
Remarkably, North Adelaide enjoyed 108 more disposals and 20 more tackles than Port Adelaide, demonstrating their willingness to work on both sides of the ball.
The big bodies of Campbell Coombe (29 disposals, six clearances), Harrison Wigg (20 disposals, six inside 50s) and Sam Ramsey were simply too strong for the undermanned Magpies midfield.
With plenty of time and space on their side, North had a procession of players ready to take full advantage, with Alex Spina, Blayne O'Loughlin, Charlie Dinning and Hughen Wissman all racking up more than 20 disposals.
Dyson Hilder enjoyed a strong game in his new defensive post, holding Magpies' key forward Ollie Lord to two early goals and completely blanketing him after quarter time.
Enjoying plenty of opportunities, North Adelaide's small forwards did the bulk of the damage, with Lachie Grubb kicking five goals while Nigel Lockyer bagged four and Sam McInnerney worked hard all over the ground to kick three.
Another positive for the Roosters was the breakout game of Will Francou, the son of Port Adelaide great Josh, who finished with 20 disposals, three clearances and eight inside 50s.
On a forgettable day for the Magpies there were some small positives to take away, perhaps the biggest being the successful return ofย Lord to the line-up, who finished unscathed and with two early goals.
Another was Cody Suzst's continued development as a permanent midfielder as he collected 24 disposals and four clearances.
Tom Clurey largely shut out young Roosters forward Brad Ashcroft and amassed eight rebound 50s as he worked overtime to repel repeated Rooster attacks.
AFL-listed youngster Xavier Walsh showed great tenacity in his matchup against Frank Szekely, collecting 16 disposals and eight rebound 50s of his own.
Woodville-West Torrens 11.11.(77) def South Adelaide 11.6.(72)
Woodville-West Torrens saw off a determined South Adelaide outfit to notch up an important five-point win as they celebrated the milestones of Jarred Redden (150 games) and Matt Goldsworthy (250 games).
Pushed all the way by a much-improved Panthers side, the Eagles were made to fight until the final siren in a thrilling contest that did not see a margin greater than 12 points for the entire day.
In the end it was the Eagles' superiority at clearance and execution in the moments that mattered that earned them the win.
The Eagles finished with 12 more clearances, led superbly by Joe Sinor (23 disposals and 11 tackles), James Rowe (29 disposals and a goal) and Adam D'Aloia (17 disposals and seven clearances).
Zane Williams put in an outstanding game to collect 23 disposals, five clearances and what proved to be the winning goal with some crafty work from a forward 50 stoppage.
Connor Ballenden was pivotal again both up forward and in the ruck, booting two goals and amassing 19 hitouts as an important back-up to 150-gamer Jarrad Redden.
Patrick Weckert was solid again as he continues to push for an AFL mid-season draft opportunity, working up the ground to find five marks and six inside 50s.
While unable to find the polish to get them over the line, there were plenty of positives for South Adelaide to take away from the contest.
Arlo Draper made a successful return from injury and had an immediate impact, collecting 19 disposals, four clearances and two goals as he added a new dimension to the midfield mix.
Kobe Mutch (29 disposals and four clearances) and Ollie Davis (28 disposals and nine tackles) were both important contributors in the midfield, while Elliot Dunkin showed plenty of spark across half-back.
Glenelg 10.10.(70) def West Adelaide 6.7.(43)
Glenelg did enough to fight off a determined West Adelaide side to claim an important win that keeps them in touch with the top three.
Still not firing on all cylinders and with a lengthening injury list, the Tigers will be happy with the return to form of some of their key playmakers that proved the difference.
Corey Lyons played his best game of the season to finish with 31 disposals and 10 clearances, while Max Proud and Jony Scharenberg patrolled the backline expertly.
Billy Stretch was influential throughout with 21 disposals and a goal and second-gamer Jake Walker was impressive again in collecting four clearances from 16 disposals.
Matthew Allen was seemingly everywhere, racking up 20 disposals, five clearances, 11 tackles and two goals.
Key forwards Liam McBean and Luke Reynods recovered from quiet games last week to combine for five 5.6.
The win was made all the more meritorious following injuries in the first 10 minutes to James Bell and young ruckman Will Stockman, forcing Riley Holder to re-enter the ruck and battle admirably.
West's effort and application across the afternoon could not be questions, but crucial turnovers and skill errors were costly, handing Glenelg several opportunities to cash in.
Kicking just one goal in a tough opening half, the Bloods made two separate charges after half time but could not find a way to finish the job.ย
Young gun midfielder Kobe Ryan was instrumental, kicking three goals in a 10-minute purple patch to start the third term that breathed life into the contest.
He eventually finished with 21 disposals, 11 tackles and seven clearances as he led the midfield brigade with his toughness and explosive power at the contest.
Sam Frost (33 disposals) and Brady Searle (24 disposals and 14 clearances) also played important roles, while Dylan White was terrific down back with 27 disposals, seven tackles and eight rebound 50s.
