SA Sports Gurus: Women in sport, Glenelg choke in SANFL, Adelaide Footy League major round starts plus heroes and villains
IT’S been all about the women in sport this week, with our ladies doing well locally and on the international stage.
IT’S been all about the women in sport this week, with our ladies doing well locally and on the international stage.
The SANFL announced this week next season’s SANFL women’s league top two sides will receive a share of $20,000 each — the largest pool of money for any female state football competition in Australia.
The league will offer $15,000 to the premier and $5000 to the runner-up in a bid to attract more players and make the competition elite.
It puts the girls on a similar pegging to the men’s competition – the SANFL’s premier receives $20,000 and runner-up $10,000.
One the international stage, the Aussie tennis rising star Daria Gavrilova won her maiden WTA title after claiming the Connecticut Open when she beat Dominika Cibulkova, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 last month.
Dasha then backed it up by winning her first round match at the US Open this week but dropped her next match 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 7-6 (7-5).
She went down swinging though, exiting the tournament after the longest women’s match in history at Flushing Meadows – a three-hour, 31-minute epic.
In another great boost of confidence in women’s sport, the first match of the Matilda’s two-game series against Brazil later this month is nearing a sellout.
The SA Sport Gurus’ attention turns to the state league netball grand final tonight, which should be a beauty.
VILLAINS — Glenelg
The Tigers only have themselves to blame for blowing a prime chance to return to the SANFL finals.
After holding fifth place for much of the season, Matthew Lokan’s side dropped to seventh on the ladder off the back of losses to North Adelaide a fortnight ago and to the Bloods last weekend (the two bottom-ranked sides in the competition, we might add).
A win would have earned them fifth spot and a place in the elimination final at Adelaide Oval on Saturday, which they probably would’ve lost anyway as their record away from home stinks as bad the Patawalonga.
HEROES — Prince Alfred College
PRINCE Alfred College capped an incredible college football season by securing the Messenger Shield on Saturday with a 29-point victory against St Peter’s on Saturday.
PAC went through this season undefeated and no team managed to get within three goals of the side in 12 games.
Coach Martin McKinnon was proud of his players’ efforts and said the match against St Peter’s was hard fought.
“There was real pressure on, but the team galvanised, found real belief, and kicked the first three goals of that last quarter (to end the contest),” McKinnon said.
Local rivals battle for grand final berth
PHOS Camden and Sacred Heart Old Collegians are two local rivals, separated by a couple kilometres of bitumen in Adelaide’s southwest.
The rivalry is about to heat up even more this weekend, though, when the two sides play off in an Adelaide Footy league’s division two final.
The stakes are high, with the winner progressing, while the loser will go home with their tail between their legs after being bundled out of the major round.
It follows last year’s situation where the sides faceed off in a knockout final.
In 2016, PHOS was beaten by SHOC in the first semi-final after winning the
elimination final, while this year the positions are reversed with SHOC advancing from the
elimination final.
And still on local footy...
GAZA was bundled out of the division two finals series in heartbreaking fashion at the weekend. In its elimination final against Sacred Heart Old Collegians, Gaza led with just 10 seconds to go before Ben Moroney goaled for SHOC helping it to eventually claim the win by two points.
More retirements tipped for theSANFL?
WEST Adelaide veterans Chris Schmidt, and Daniel Caire and North Adelaide’s George Thring have officially retired from SANFL duties and all played their last match last week as their respective teams did not earn a finals berth.
The Gurus are wondering whether there will be a flood of more retirees in the SANFL, similar to what we have seen this season in the AFL with legends like Bob Murphy, Jobe Watson, Nick Riewoldt and Sam Mitchell.
Who do you think might be next to call time on their SANFL career? Tell us by commenting below
Double Blues add a women’s side
WE’VE already spoken about girl power in this column but Sturt has become the sixth team to be added to the SANFL women’s competition next year.
The SANFL announced last week the Double Blues as the final team to contest the 2018 competition.
Sturt will now join the original four teams — Norwood, North Adelaide, Glenelg and West Adelaide — and South Adelaide, which was announced as the fifth team in June.
The SANFLW competition is set to kick off in February 2018.
GOT A GOOD LOCAL SPORT YARN? Let us know at daniela.abbracciavento@news.com.au
South Aussie siblings make their move
JOE and Bethany Cross performed a rare distance double on the weekend while challenging the nations’s best young endurance athletes.
The SA siblings (pictured) travelled to Wollongong to represent the state in Saturday’s Australian Cross Country Championships.
The Stoneyfell teenagers backed-up that effort by competing in the national Winter Race Walking titles the next day.
The duo was part of the 22-strong SA cross country team.
Read the full story HERE
West Adelaide women’s footballer shines in debut season
RACHELLE Martin had not played much Australian rules football before moving from the Yorke Peninsula to study commerce at University in Adelaide this year.
Martin, who hails from Minlaton, signed with West Adelaide at the beginning of the 2017 Adelaide Footy League women’s season for a bit of fun.
This month, the 152cm-tall dynamo etched her name in the league’s history books when she claimed the 2017 Dutschke Medal for the first division’s best and fairest player.
“I had only played a few nine-a-side games of football at school back home,” Martin, 18, says.
“I didn’t think I would win the award in my first year.
“I just couldn’t believe it and I was lost for words because there’s so many talented players in the league.”
Laura Packard ready for tilt at back-to-back premierships
MATRICS goalie Laura Packard says striking the balance between netball, work and life has led to her most consistent Premier League netball season yet.
Packard, who will tonight play with the reigning premier as it attempts to claim a back-to-back titles, has been named this year’s league Most Valuable Player.
The goal shooter’s accuracy in the circle — she scored 465 goals from 537 attempts in 14 matches this season has also propelled Matrics to the decider this Friday night at Mile End.
“This year, I have not spent too much time thinking about netball,” Packard, who is a primary school teacher when she’s not on the court, says.
“I have had a lot going on outside of netball with a hectic working life and I’ve dedicated a lot of time to other things outside netball.
“I’ve often been worried about shooting percentages and things like that, but I think a bit more of a relaxed approach this year has been really good for me.”
Milestone men
Last week across the Adelaide Footy League, the following players racked-up milestone games.
150 games: Daniel Orlando (Old Ignatians), Leigh Forrest (North Haven)
100 games: Jacob Owen (Athelstone)
And lookingforward…
THIS week marks the beginning of the SANFL finals series and there are some cracking games to watch.
Norwood will battle Central District in an elimination final at Adelaide Oval on Saturday at 12.10pm.
It should be a very interesting match as the Bulldogs have hit a solid run of form after winning six of their final eight minor round matches to snatch a finals spot.
The Redlegs, meanwhile drew their final minor game with Sturt but lost its two prior to that to Central and Port respectively.
Is there a chance the Bulldogs could do the unthinkable and upset the Redlegs in a final?
Port then plays Sturt in a qualifying final at Adelaide Oval on Saturday at 3.10pm.
The Magpies will regain skipper Steve Summerton will return after he was sidelined for the side’s win against North last week with an illness.
Summerton will bne joined by AFL-listed Matt Lobbe, Matt White and Angus Monfries as well as SANFL-contracted Nathan Rudloff in the 23-man squad.
Sturt has welcomed back premiership stars Jack Osborn (general soreness) and Ben Hansen (groin) for the match against Port.
We are predicting a pretty tough contest, but reckon Port might just get over the line.
Messenger Community News will cover the action so pick up one of our papers from the driveway next week.