SANFL News

Roosters home in a thriller, Eagles continue dream start: SANFL Wrap – Round 3

Catch up on all the action from Round 3 of the SANFL.

Published by
Jordan Routley

Sam Jacobs continued his dream start to life as the Eagles' coach, the Roosters claimed their first win of the season in a thriller and the Bulldogs picked up another scalp on the road.

Read all about it in this week's SANFL wrap.

South Adelaide 10.7. (67) def by Central District 14.9. (93)

Central District earned its first win at Noarlunga in nearly 10 years after holding off a gallant South Adelaide outfit on Saturday.

The Doggies burst out of the blocks early, kicking four quick goals to take a 26-point lead after just seven minutes of play.

New recruit Jake Gasper was the catalyst for this frenzied start, kicking three goals in this period before ending the match with five in another dazzling display.

Staring down the barrel of a second consecutive thrashing, South Adelaide rallied and hit back with three goals of their own to go to the first break just 13 points in arrears.

The fightback was built off the back of solid defensive work led by Sam Skinner and Jake Summerton, who began nullifying the Bulldogs' attack after a slow start.

At the other end, Liam Fitt provided a much-needed spark, kicking three goals including a solo effort that saw him take four bounces before nailing the shot from close range.

The game remained an arm wrestle for much of the contest thereafter, with Central District eventually winning by the exact margin they held after the first quarter onslaught.

Former Gold Coast Sun Jez McLennan continues to impress in the lead-up to the AFL Mid-Season Draft, collecting 25 disposals and five rebound 50s as he provided a steady hand exiting the defence.

Harry Grant was again influential in the midfield, finishing with 28 disposals and eight clearances, while veteran Jarrod Schiller defied his age in collecting 21 disposals, nine clearances and eight clearances.

Aiden Grace and Nick Lange were dangerous up forward, both kicking two goals while Lange also pushed back into defence on occasion and took two important intercept marks on the last line.

Hayden Sampson again led the way for South Adelaide, finding a team-high 26 disposals and five clearances, while Jake Arundell never stopped running and finished with 20 disposals and a goal.

Damon Freitag responded after a quiet game against Sturt, clunking several big contested marks and kicking three goals.

North Adelaide 10.3. (63) def Sturt 8.9. (57)

North Adelaide registered its first win of the season in a gritty, nail-biting win over Sturt at Prospect on Saturday.

Coming off a 92-point thumping at the hands of the Eagles last week, the Roosters responded in fine style, clinging on in a dramatic finish that saw Sturt's Josh Hone line up after the siren to tie the match.

Hone's kick from nearly 50 metres fell agonisingly short, leaving the Roosters to celebrate a six-point win.

Moments before that, North Adelaide's Lachie Grubb kicked the winning goal after picking up a loose ball in the pocket and waltzing into an open goal.

Connor McFadyen was nearly the hero for Sturt, kicking two crucial majors in the last term including an impressive dribble goal from the boundary to recover a 13-point deficit.

It was a tight contest all day, with the margin not exceeding 13 points for the whole game.

The first score of the match took nearly nine minutes when North Adelaide debutant Kelsey Rypstra roved the ball perfectly off the pack and snapped a clever goal.

After being accused of wasting the football in their loss to the Eagles, North made every post a winner against Sturt, finishing with 13 less inside 50s and four less scoring shots but kicking an impressive 10.3 in front of the sticks.

Liam Hoy's inclusion in the ruck for his first league game allowed regular ruckman Mitch Harvey to push forward, which proved a match-winning move.

Hoy more than held his own with 18 hitouts, while Harvey kicked four goals and took two contested marks as he provided a crucial focal point inside 50.

Harrison Magor was another key inclusion after missing the first two games through injury, amassing 22 disposals, six marks and five rebound 50s.

Campbell Coombe and Harrison Wigg were as industrious as ever in the midfield, both finishing above 20 disposals and claiming seven clearances each in a fascinating midfield battle.

For Sturt, Will Snelling continued his hot start to the year, finding 27 disposals, five clearances and a goal to stake his claim as recruit of the year.

Rory Illman was solid in defence, claiming four rebound 50s and even went forward to kick the goal of the week with a long bomb from inside the centre square.

Ned Walter was recognised for his strong start to the season by being named the Round 3 breakthrough player, collecting 23 disposals in an assured performance in the backline.

Glenelg 16.10. (106) def Adelaide 10.8. (68)

Last year's reigning premiers returned to the winner's list and erased any fears of a premiership hangover following a comprehensive win over Adelaide at the Bay.

Still smarting from last week's loss to Norwood, Glenelg came out all guns blazing, kicking five goals to no score in the first 13 minutes to have the game under control before quarter time.

It was a devastating display of their best football, with the much-famed forward trio of Liam McBean, Lachie Hosie and Luke Reynolds combining for 12 goals across the afternoon.

McBean's inclusion after missing last week's match was crucial, with the captain leading from the front in a stellar five-goal effort.

With the Tigers' lead out to 77 points early in the last, Adelaide did well to put on the last six goals of the match to add some dignity to the scoreboard in another tough afternoon at the office.

Decimated by injury, the Crows again fielded a young team featuring only 12 AFL-listed players, which proved a tough task against the white-hot Glenelg.

After being stifled by the Redlegs last week, the Tigers were able to generate more of their free-flowing ball movement, with James Bell, Billy Stretch and Matthew Allen all providing plenty of run and carry.

Feasting on Adelaide's turnovers, Glenelg were able to punish their hapless opponents in transition, generating a mammoth 60 inside 50s - a number the Crows' undermanned defence was never going to be able to cover.

Adelaide can hang its hat on winning the clearances by nine, with Billy Dowling and Zac Taylor combining for 17 clearances as they both showed plenty of promise.

Another positive for Adelaide was the return of Harry Schoenberg from an Achilles injury, who played a half of football and finished with 19 disposals.

Chris Burgess was a strong presence in attack, kicking three goals and taking four big contested marks while Oscar Ryan and Dan Curtin were both excellent in the back half.

Norwood 6.14. (50) def West Adelaide 5.7. (37)

Norwood continued its unblemished start to the season in a scrappy if not unconvincing win over West Adelaide in Port Lincoln on Saturday.

With just 11 goals kicked between both teams, the Redlegs' defence continued its remarkable start to the season in a clear sign of how Norwood are going to tackle this season.

The Redlegs have conceded just 134 points across three games to start this season - by far the best result of any team in the league.

After West Adelaide got off to a hot start on the Eyre Peninsula, Norwood held them to just two goals after quarter time and kept them goalless in the second and final terms.

It all started with Norwood's incredible pressure at the ball, laying an amazing 137 tackles to close down any space the Bloods found.

As a result, West Adelaide's disposal efficiency was 13% lower than Norwood's, as the Bloods were forced into crucial turnovers that were often punished by the Redlegs.

However, Redlegs' coach Jade Rawlings will not be happy with some of his own team's ball use, particularly in front of goal, with Norwood costing themselves a greater margin of victory with a scoreline of 6.14.

South Adelaide recruit Mitch O'Neill was again outstanding, finishing the day with 30 disposals, 10 clearances and 11 tackles, while Harry Boyd dominated the ruck battle to claim 54 hitouts and nine clearances.

Matthew Ling continues to emerge as a key playmaker off half-back, finding 19 disposals and providing plenty of damaging run and carry from the back half.

Jackson Callow was the Redlegs' only multiple goal scorer with two majors but could have had more if not for some costly kicking.

For West Adelaide, young gun Kobe Ryan continued his hot streak of form, collecting 22 disposals, eight clearances and 12 tackles, taking charge of this Westies' midfield.

Ned Stevens was a threat up front with two goals while Lucas Merline was sublime again in defence, launching 13 rebound 50s from 27 disposals.

Woodville-West Torrens 12.11. (83) def Port Adelaide 8.9. (57)

A six-goal burst each side of three-quarter-time was enough for Woodville-West Torrens to surge clear of a plucky Port Adelaide at Woodville Oval.

Despite two losses to start the season, the Magpies were right in the hunt for much of the afternoon, with scores level midway through the third term.

Then the Eagles put on the afterburners, creating a 39-point buffer in the blink of an eye to put the game out of reach in the final quarter.

It was another display of just how damaging the undefeated Eagles can be, with their quick ball movement and ability to punish turnovers again a feature.

In all three of their wins so far this season they have produced devastating bursts of football that completely take the game away from the opposition.

In Round 1 against West Adelaide they kicked seven consecutive goals in the final quarter, while last week they kicked the first six goals against North Adelaide.

The Eagles' midfield was again dominant across the afternoon, with Joe Sinor, Adam D'Aloia and the returning Riley Knight all playing starring roles.

Returning ruckman Jarrad Redden continued his fine start to the year, finishing with 30 hitouts and seven clearances.

Luke Beecken was irrepressible across half back, picking up 26 disposals and seven rebound 50s as he generated plenty of drive from defence.

Emerging forward Patrick Weckert stood tall in the forward line following his terrific performance last week, ending with three goals and six marks.

For Port Adelaide, Francis Evans continues to push for an AFL recall with 22 disposals and two goals, while Dylan Williams put in one of his best SANFL performances with 24 disposals and eight rebound 50s.

Cody Szust and Aiden Turner were both important in the midfield while developing small forward Hugh Ferrari was busy, finishing with three majors.

Published by
Jordan Routley