SANFL Insider Round 18: Gibbs’ ‘cheeky’ farewell as Dogs, Pies set up finals rematch and Blue and Bulldog tie for medal
Former AFL star Bryce Gibbs has signed off his SANFL career with a tribute to his dad, a dual premiership defender dubbed “Mr Cool” in his playing days.
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Bryce Gibbs signed off with an old-fashioned drop kick that was 38 years in the making as Glenelg sealed its third minor premiership in five years and Central District earned a finals berth for the first time since 2017.
In a thrilling final minor round where top spot and elimination final positions were up for grabs – and a Double Blue and Bulldog polled three votes to tie for The Advertiser SANFL Player of the Year award – 2006 AFL No. 1 draft pick Gibbs stole the show with a long drop kick that will be etched in history.
Playing his final SANFL game for South Adelaide against his original club Glenelg at his former home ground at the Bay on Saturday, Gibbs played on from a kick-in late in the final quarter and delivered a drop kick that brought the crowd to its feet in a tribute to his dad, dual Tigers premiership defender Ross Gibbs.
Ross, dubbed “Mr Cool” in his playing days, famously booted a drop kick when bringing the ball back into play after a behind with three minutes to play in Glenelg’s 1985 grand final victory against North Adelaide.
So Bryce thought what better way to end his 268-game AFL (with Carlton and Adelaide) and 77-game SANFL career (Glenelg, Adelaide and South) than do likewise at the ground where the Gibbs’ name is revered.
“It was a little bit cheeky to be honest,’’ Bryce said of replicating his dad.
“I told him before the game that if it gets late and we are up or down by a fair bit (the Tigers won by 60 points) I’ll see how we go, I didn’t guarantee it.
“It was a little tribute, a bit cheeky, but probably fitting given it was my last game at the Bay to pull something out.’’
Ross, who was at the match watching his son’s final game, said he also wanted Bryce to have a crack at a long screw punt, saying, “because I used to bomb them from the goalsquare to the centre’’.
“But he called it in the morning, that he was going to do a drop kick, so it was great,’’ Ross said.
“It was a good way to go out and we’re done now.’’
Here’s all you need to know from a finals-shaping Round 18 of SANFL.
ROUND 18 SCOREBOARD
West Adelaide 13.8 (86) d Woodville-West Torrens 12.8 (80)
Central District 14.7 (91) d Port Adelaide 11.10 (76)
Glenelg 14.16 (100) d South Adelaide 5.10 (40)
Sturt 15.10 (100) d North Adelaide 11.7 (73)
Norwood 15.3 (93) d Adelaide 10.14 (74)
FINAL LADDER
1. Glenelg
(15-3, 59.2%)
2. Sturt
(14-4, 51.9%)
3. Adelaide
(13-5: 60.4%)
4. Central District
(9-9, 47.6%)
5. Port Adelaide
(8-9-1, 48.9%)
6. North Adelaide
(8-10, 46.6%)
7. Norwood
(6-11-1, 45.8%)
8. Woodville-West Torrens
(6-12, 47.3%)
9. South Adelaide:
(5-12-1, 44.5%)
10. West Adelaide:
(4-13-1, 45.8%)
NUMBERS GAME
Top 12 Champion Data ranking points
Joey Haines (South) 165
Liam McBean (Glenelg) 162
Tom Lewis (Sturt) 157
Luke Nankervis (Adelaide) 140
Kobe Ryan (West) 140
Matthew Allen (Glenelg) 139
Campbell Combe (North) 136
Michael Mattingly (West) 135
Joseph Sinor (Eagles) 134
James Rowe (Eagles) 132
Billy Iles (Central) 132
Nik Rokahr (Norwood) 129
THE STAT
3
Glenelg minor premierships in the past five years. The Tigers also finished top at the end of the minor round in 2019 and 2021.
PLAY OF THE DAY
Bryce Gibbs (South Adelaide)
The retiring Panther signed off on his superb career with a drop kick 16 minutes into the final term against Glenelg.
SAY WHAT
Quotes of the week
“We are happy finishing top, we think it’s the best avenue going in (to the finals). We needed to get that (performance) done against South because we were disappointed with the previous two weeks and felt that we had gone off the boil a little bit and lost our intensity and defensive urgency. So there was a big focus on getting our DNA back defensively and I felt we were outstanding with that in the second half.’’
Glenelg coach Darren Reeves
“That first quarter was one of the best ones we’ve played for a fair while. We were efficient when we went inside forward-50 in the third quarter, but they (the Roosters) won more at the contest. They challenged us in the last quarter. Our last 15-20 minutes was really good.”
Sturt coach Martin Mattner
“Clearly we have got our eye on next Sunday, so there was a number of things we tried to make sure we are ready, We don’t have a ruckman at the moment. So you have to try something, we played some midfielders there, we played no ruck at times and it’s a unique position for us. We expect about seven or eight changes next week.”
Adelaide coach Michael Godden
“We’ve asked the players to do a fair bit of fitness work lately to cope when conditions are a bit warmer. Earlier in the season our skill level wasn’t at the level it needed to be but I think it’s much better now. Playing Port again this week just means my Tuesday night shouldn’t be as long as it usually is.’’
Central coach Paul Thomas
“I didn’t think we played our way and didn’t control the game in the end like we did early. They (the Bulldogs) played better footy in the end but I and the team are excited to be in the finals. Playing Central again will be a bit different at a different venue.’’
Port coach Tyson Goldsack
“It was an ‘almost year’ for us. We’ve had ‘almost’ moments when we’ve looked really good and ‘almost’ moments when we looked terrible. One of our coaches was giving me updates here and there (from the Central-Port clash at Elizabeth) but it was irrelevant – Central won so it deserved to get in ahead of us. That’s the way the cookie has crumbled for us. This is the first time in my stint as coach that we’ve missed the finals and it doesn’t sit well with me.’’
North coach Jacob Surjan
“You pour a fair bit of emotion into the club, the players, and for me it probably wasn’t sustainable for a long time. I run a business as well, and trying to juggle everything, with family also, it is too much. Ultimately it is not fair on the footy club or playing group because they deserve more than I can give.”
Eagles coach Jade Sheedy
“We have been in every game since round four and in the past 10 weeks we have lost only three. The damage was done early in the year and we acknowledge that. It is hard to come back from (a 0-8 start). We hit the line hard at the end of the year.”
Norwood coach Jade Rawlings
“We lost our legs midway through the third quarter, with some early injuries not helping, but Glenelg was far superior. We turned the ball over too much, which made us have to defend for long periods, and that’s just not sustainable and has been our Achilles heel all year. It’s been a disappointing, frustrating year but we’ll grow from it and be back bigger and better next year.’’
South coach Jarrad Wright
“Liam Delahunty (who kicked the matchwinning goal after the final siren) is actually a super set shot for goal. It is a credit to him because last year he played the majority of the season as a key defender.”
West coach Adam Hartlett
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
ROUND 18
EAGLES v BLOODS
Warren Partland’s votes
3 – Kobe Ryan (WA)
2 – Joseph Sinor (WWT)
1 – Callum Park (WA)
BULLDOGS v MAGPIES
Gordon Armstrong’s votes
3 – Harry Grant (CD)
2 – Jackson Mead (PA)
1 – Jarrod Schiller (CD)
TIGERS v PANTHERS
Andrew Capel’s votes
3 – Matthew Allen (Glen)
2 – Liam McBean (Glen)
1 – Joey Haines (SA)
ROOSTERS v DOUBLE BLUES
Steve Barrett’s votes
3 – Tom Lewis (Sturt)
2 – Amos Doyle (Sturt)
1 – Andrew Moore (NA)
REDLEGS v CROWS
Luke Marchioro’s votes
3 – Jacob Kennerley (Norw)
2 – Luke Nankervis (Adel)
1 – Jackson Callow (Norw)
FINAL LEADERBOARD
(After Round 18)
20 – Tom Lewis (Sturt)
20 – Harry Grant (CD)
17 – Harry Schoenberg (Adel)
17 – James Battersby (Sturt)
16 – Nik Rokahr (Norw)
15 – Liam McBean (Glen)
15 – Kobe Ryan (WA)
14 – James Rowe (WWT)
14 – Matthew Allen (Glen)
13 – Jackson Hately (Adel)
11 – Harry Boyd (Nor)
10 – Joseph Sinor (WWT)
10 – Jackson Mead (PA)
10 – Jarrod Schiller (CD)
9 – Patrick Wilson (Sturt)
9 – Campbell Combe (NA)
9 – Keegan Brooksby (SA)
9 – Mitch O’Neill (SA)
8 – Jez McLennan (CD)
8 – Max Proud (Glen)
8 – Harrison Wigg (NA)
8 – Corey Lyons (Glen)
8 – Callum Park (WA)
7 – Matt Crouch (Adel)
7 – Mitch Hardie (WWT)
7 – Luke Partington (Glen)
7 – Lachie Hosie (Glen)
7 – Sam Berry (Adel)
6 – Cam McGree (Glen)
6 – Quinton Narkle (PA)
6 – Casey Voss (Sturt)
6 – Hugh Jackson (PA)
6 – Oliver Davis (SA)
6 – Toby Pink (Glen
6 – Lachlan Gollant (Adel)
6 – Sam Mayes (NA)
5 – Alex Spina (NA)
5 – Nick Moore (PA)
5 – Josh Hone (Sturt)
5 – Kieran Strachan (Adel)
SHARPSHOOTERS
Leading goalkickers
52 – Lachie Hosie (Glen)
43 – Liam McBean (Glen)
41 – Josh Hone (Sturt)
37 – Lachlan Gollant (Adel)
37 – Luke Reynolds (Glen)
33 – Lachlan Burrows (Sturt)
30 – Zach Sproule (SA)
29 – Connor Ballenden (WWT)
27 – Liam Delahunty (WA)
25 – Tariek Newchurch (Adel)
UP NEXT
Finals
Elimination final
Central District v Port Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Sunday, September 3, 12.15pm
Qualifying final
Sturt v Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Sunday, September 3, 3.15pm
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