SANFL Insider Round 16: Legs, Roosters vie for flag favouritism, Eagles no longer rock

Who’s hot, who’s not, team of the week and all you need to know from Round 16. The Advertiser takes you behind the scenes of Australia’s best state league competition.

Andrew Capel

@andrewcapel

5 min read

July 26, 2022 - 1:24PM

Replay: SANFL - Sturt v South Adelaide (League)

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Red-hot Norwood continues to shake up the SANFL, North Adelaide makes a statement and the Eagles’ flag chances are on life support.

That is the state of play after a season-shaping Round 16 which has incredibly left just one win separating the top four teams and three clubs vying for fifth in one of the tightest ever finishes to a SANFL season.

As the league moves into its bye round, here’s all you need to know about an action-packed Round 16.

Norwood’s Xavier Tranfa celebrates a goal in the crucial win against Adelaide. Picture: Cory Sutton/SANFL.

South Adelaide’s Liam Fitt tries to break a tackle against Sturt at Unley Oval on Saturday. Picture: Brenton Edwards.

ROUND 16 SCOREBOARD

Norwood 8.17 (65) d Adelaide 7.11 (53)

Glenelg 9.12 (66) d West Adelaide 8.9 (57)

South Adelaide 8.7 (55) d Sturt 7.7 (49)

Port Adelaide 11.8 (74) d Central District 7.9 (51)

North Adelaide 16.14 (110) d Woodville-West Torrens 9.8 (62)

POWER RANKINGS

1. North Adelaide

(11-4: Made a flag statement with a powerful eight-goal demolition of back-to-back premier the Eagles. The convincing win followed consecutive losses to Norwood and the Crows. Has the best percentage in the competition (57.8), which could be crucial on a tightly-packed ladder).

2. Norwood

(10-5: The Redlegs are the form team of the competition, having won six games on the trot, including beating high-flying North and Adelaide in consecutive weeks. After some tough losses early in the season, Norwood, remarkably, is now in a strong position to claim the vital double chance in the finals).

3. Glenelg

(11-4: Had to fight tooth and nail to hold off bottom-placed West at Richmond on Saturday but at this stage of the season what matters most is the two premiership points. Faces a crunch two weeks in the battle for the double chance, with games against North and Norwood).

4. Adelaide

(10-5: Ran into a red-hot Norwood at The Parade, being kept scoreless in the first term before finishing strongly but kicking poorly in the final quarter. Its flag chances, obviously, will rest on the availability of its AFL-listed players).

5. Sturt

(9-6: Had one hand on a finals berth after taking a 16-point half-time lead against South at home before being overrun in the second half, kicking only two goals to six. Coach Martin Mattner labelled the collapse a wasted opportunity. “A win probably would have sealed our fate as far as playing finals is concerned, which is very frustrating because we had a fair bit to play for and didn’t quite get it done,’’ he said).

6. Woodville-West Torrens

(8-7: The Eagles’ premiership three-peat hopes are in tatters after being convincingly beaten by North at Prospect. Face a battle just to make the final five and, with serious injuries to key players, would have to pull off a minor miracle to win the flag from here).

South Adelaide

(7-8: With its season on the line at half-time against Sturt, when it trailed by 16 points in a low-scoring affair, South dug deep to pull off an unlikely victory at Unley in one of its most courageous performances of the season to stay in the finals hunt).

8. Central District

(4-11: Ran into a strong Port team and paid the price, falling to a 23-point defeat on neutral territory at Woodville Oval. The Bulldogs remain a work in progress but coach Paul Thomas is building a squad that could compete for finals next year).

9. Port Adelaide

(4-11: What a difference getting more AFL-listed players back in the team makes. With an improving injury list, Port fielded 17 AFL players against in-form Central and won its first game since round 10).

10. West Adelaide

(1-14: Followed its breakthrough win against Port with a strong performance against Glenelg where Jono Beech missed a shot entering time-on in the final term to put the Bloods in front. Needs another win in the final three rounds).

Sturt’s Abe Davis tries to evade the tackle of Panther Joey Haines at Unley Oval. Picture: Brenton Edwards.

NUMBERS GAME

(Top 12 Champion Data ranking points)

Campbell Combe (North) 166

Casey Voss (Sturt) 159

Keegan Brooksby (South) 157

Joey Haines (South) 153

Luke Surman (Norwood) 152

Oscar Clavarino (South) 151

Matthew Snook (Glenelg) 148

Harry Boyd (Norwood) 141

Frank Szekely (North) 141

Rhett Montgomerie (Central) 138

Jackson Mead (Port) 138

Guy Page (Sturt) 134

THE STAT

Games that South has had decided by two goals or fewer following the six-point win against Sturt in round 16.

The Panthers boast a 5-5 win-loss record in these games.

Crow Jackson Hately wins one of his 33 disposals in the loss to Norwood at The Parade. Picture: Cory Sutton/SANFL.

FLYING HIGH

(Mark of the week)

Josh Rentsch (Sturt)

The Double Blues key forward flew high on the shoulders of South ruckman Keegan Brooksby to haul in a screamer in front of the home fans in the Unley Oval grandstand.

The mark - 21 minutes into the second quarter - came just minutes after Rentsch had kicked his only goal for the game as Sturt seized the initiative before an inspired Panthers outfit overran it in the second half.

SAY WHAT

(Quotes of the week)

“We lost the two guys (Lachlan Grubb and Kym LeBois) before half-time and I challenged the backs to not come off and get their jobs done. They were outstanding. The back six gave our midfielders and our forwards a bit of a spell at times. Karl Finlay is coming of age as a footballer and Cam Craig is a great leader. He kept Dan Menzel to one (goal) and had 24 (disposals) himself. I felt we had really good shape on the ground and we really controlled the ball, which is what we wanted.”

North coach Jacob Surjan.

“We’re a long way off finals footy, that’s the reality of it. We didn’t have great composure in traffic and gave the ball back too easily. We were always scrambling in defence trying to slow them down. It was hard.”

Eagles coach Jade Sheedy.

“Luke (Surman) is a real acquisition because he’s a very good centre bounce ruckman. We felt Harry (Boyd) is one of our best get-after-ground balls after his initial hit outs, so we experimented (both in the centre square) and thought to really good effect. It is something else we can go to. Harry’s attitude, his leadership, his openness to trying things, he has been exemplary”.

Norwood coach Jade Rawlings.

“We’ve shown great courage all season but this time we were able to execute a bit better in moments at the end of the game. I am extremely proud of the group’s resilience to keep backing up week after week after what’s been a pretty trying year through some circumstances (injuries) and results. To be able to go into the bye week with a slim (finals) chance still certainly keeps the heart pumping.’’

South coach Jarrad Wright.

Eagles veteran Matthew Goldsworthy under pressure from Rooster Sam Thorne in North’s big win at Prospect Oval. Picture: Keryn Stevens.

INSIDE WORD

Sturt is expected to make a decision during the bye round about whether to try to nurse star midfielder Patrick Wilson, who has missed the past three games with more shoulder problems, through the rest of the season or shut him down.

“Our plan was always to wait until the bye and assess where Patty is at from there,’’ coach Martin Mattner said.

“So we’ll see what happens in the next week or so.’’