SANFL Round 18: Crows cop finals hit, Redlegs on a roll

Who’s hot, who’s not, team of the week and all you need to know from Round 18. We take you behind the scenes of Australia’s best state league competition.

Andrew Capel

@andrewcapel

6 min read

August 16, 2022 - 10:03AM

Replay: SANFL – Central District v Adelaide (League)

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High-flying Adelaide’s quest for a first SANFL flag has taken a major hit, with the club poised to field an understrength team in the finals.

While the 12-5 Crows sit second with one minor round series to play and can still finish minor premiers, only 15 of their AFL-listed players have qualified for the major round.

That could jump to 16 if key forward Elliott Himmelberg plays in the SANFL Showdown against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

Under SANFL rules, AFL clubs the Crows and Port are allowed to field a maximum of 17 AFL-listed players in the state league finals.

There is no such limit in the minor round.

Qualification for the major round is based on AFL-listed players playing a higher percentage of SANFL than AFL games and at least three SANFL matches in the second half of the season.

Adding to the Crows’ finals woes is that one of their qualified players, defender Andrew McPherson, has been ruled out for the season through injury.

Another player, midfielder Brett Turner, has qualified to play finals for Adelaide after being recruited at the AFL mid-season draft from SANFL rival Glenelg, which currently sits fourth.

But under mid-season recruiting rules, the Tigers could stop him from playing against them should the two clubs meet in the finals.

The Crows that have already qualified for SANFL finals are: Turner, Josh Worrell, James Borlase, Tariek Newchurch, Fisher McAsey, Kieran Strachan, Luke Nankervis, Ben Davis, Zac Taylor, Billy Frampton, Luke Pedlar, Brayden Cook, Lachlan Gollant, Lachlan Sholl and the injured McPherson.

Crow Brett Turner tackles Central District’s Rhett Montgomerie at Adelaide Oval on Saturday. Picture: SANFL Image / James Elsby

Veteran SANFL captain Matthew Wright will continue to lead the team in the finals while the rest of the Crows team will be filled by supplementary players.

Adelaide head of football Adam Kelly conceded the Crows would be “two or three (AFL-listed players) down on what we’ve been taking into games in recent weeks’’ due to the SANFL finals eligibility criteria.

But he said the club, which has never played in a SANFL grand final, is confident it can still perform strongly and that coach Michael Godden and his players are focused on having a red-hot crack at the flag.

“Pleasingly what we’ve seen from the group – and this extends to our SANFL development and top-up players – is that they have a real commitment to succeed and a real appetite around the SANFL finals series,’’ Kelly said.

“So regardless of how many AFL-listed players we take into our finals campaign, we have confidence that the team will perform really strongly.’’

In an exciting finish to the minor round, every spot in the top five can still change in Saturday’s last home-and-away series while back-to-back premier Woodville-West Torrens, sitting sixth, can jump into the top five with a big win against South Adelaide and a Sturt loss to North Adelaide.

Here’s all you need to know about an action-packed round 18.

South Adelaide's Ryan Garthwaite celebrates his 60m after-the-siren goal with teammate Ben Shillabeer at Noarlunga Oval on Sunday. Picture: Tom Huntley

West Adelaide captain Tom Keough has his eyes only for the ball against North Adelaide at Prospect Oval. Picture: SANFL Image / David Mariuz

ROUND 18 SCOREBOARD

Norwood 7.7 (49) d Glenelg 6.6 (42)

North Adelaide 11.7 (73) d West Adelaide 10.7 (67)

Adelaide 17.11 (113) d Central District 8.10 (58)

Woodville-West Torrens 6.7 (43) d Sturt 4.12 (36)

South Adelaide 10.9 (69) d Port Adelaide 9.6 (60)

POWER RANKINGS

1. North Adelaide

(13-4: Held off a strong challenge from a vastly-improved West to hold on to top spot and secure the all-important double chance in the finals. A win against Sturt on Saturday will seal the minor premiership).

2. Adelaide

(12-5: Thrashed Central by 55 points to nail down a top three spot and the finals double chance. Can finish top if it beats Port in the SANFL Showdown and North loses to Sturt. But how strong will its finals side be?).

3. Norwood

(12-5: Is on an eight-game winning streak and only needs to beat bottom-placed West on Saturday to earn the finals double chance. Knows how to win the close ones and hopes to have injured star playmakers Matthew Nunn and Matthew Panos available for the finals).

4. Glenelg

(11-6: A tough loss to the Redlegs has left the Tigers needing to beat Central convincingly and hoping for West to upset Norwood to jump back into the top three. Losing Brett Turner and Sam Durdin in the AFL mid-season draft cruelled their premiership hopes).

5. Sturt

(10-7: Left the door ajar for the Eagles to steal fifth spot by losing narrowly to Jade Sheedy’s outfit on the road. Beat North, however, and it will play finals).

6. Woodville-West Torrens

(9-8: Kept its slim finals hopes alive by beating Sturt at home. Now needs to beat South convincingly at Noarlunga and hope for a Double Blues loss to stay in contention).

7. South Adelaide

(8-9: Defender-turned-forward Ryan Garthwaite proved the Panthers hero with three final quarter goals, including a 60m ‘bomb’ after the final siren, as they came from behind to beat Port at home in another thriller for Jarrad Wright’s side).

8. Central District

(4-13: Was no match for a strong Crows side on Saturday but coach Paul Thomas has made strides with the Bulldogs this season and with some astute recruiting they could push for finals next year).

9. West Adelaide

(2-15: What a difference a month makes. After losing 26 consecutive games over two seasons, the Bloods have won two of their past four games and pushed ladder leader North to the limit on Saturday. Building nicely for an improved 2023 campaign).

10. Port Adelaide

(4-13: Fielding only 10 AFL-listed players, a committed Port had South on the ropes at Noarlunga, leading by 17 points in the final term, before Garthwaite changed the game. Has been a tough year for coach Matthew Lokan and his men).

Port Adelaide's Nick Moore celebrates kicking a goal against South Adelaide at Noarlunga Oval on Sunday. Picture: Tom Huntley

NUMBERS GAME

(Top 12 Champion Data ranking points)

Kieran Strachan (Adelaide) 199

Mitch Harvey (North) 167

Sam Mayes (Port) 166

Jacob Kennerley (Norwood) 163

Liam McBean (Glenelg) 163

Ryan Garthwaite (South) 161

Casey Voss (Sturt) 160

Luke Partington (Glenelg) 159

Keegan Brooksby (South) 154

Cam Sutcliffe (Port) 152

Dylan Clarke (Eagles) 151

Jackson Hately (Adelaide) 141

THE STAT

Consecutive wins by Norwood following the hard-fought seven-point victory against Glenelg in the mud at The Parade.

The Redlegs have not lost since falling to ladder leader North by 11 points at Prospect Oval in round nine.

West Adelaide debutant Blair Rubock celebrates his first league goal against North Adelaide at Prospect Oval on Saturday. Picture: SANFL Image / David Mariuz

FLYING HIGH

(Mark of the week)

Lachie Hosie (Glenelg)

The high-leaping Tiger took a sensational grab in the wet against Norwood at The Parade on Friday night, leaping high on the back of a pack in the third quarter.

Hosie goaled from the mark to put Glenelg within one point before it lost by seven to virtually lose any hope of a top-three finish and double chance in the finals.

SAY WHAT

(Quotes of the week)

“Sometimes you have to win ugly and we managed to do it. I thought West was outstanding, its intent and effort, and a lot of credit has to go to the coaching staff for the way they went about their football. But I said to our guys that the most important thing is getting the result and while it was ugly, we’ll happily take the two very valuable points. It sets us up well for a crack at the finals.’’

North coach Jacob Surjan.

“We’ll take a lot out of the game and it continued our late-season improvement. Obviously it would have been great to win but we have taken some big steps forward in recent weeks and can go into the off-season with a fair degree of confidence that we are heading in the right direction.’’

West coach Brad Gotch.

“When we rocked up we knew what type of game it was going to be. With what was on the line for both clubs, the game was at a level expected – the high level of SANFL intense footy.”

Norwood coach Jade Rawlings.