SANFL Round 8: Late shows shake up ladder as Blues stay unbeaten and Redlegs winless

SANFL writer Andrew Capel rounds up who’s hot, who’s not, player of year votes and all you need to know from a thrilling Round 8 of the state footy league.

Sturt’s Martin Frederick tries to break the tackle of West Adelaide’s Joel Stevens at Unley Oval on Sunday. Picture: SANFL Image/David Mariuz

Sturt dodged a bullet to keep its unbeaten record intact, Matthew Allen and Daniel Menzel kicked matchwinning goals and reigning premier Norwood is still winless after losing another heart-stopper.

In a pulsating round where four of the five SANFL games were decided by five points or fewer, the battle for finals spots became even tighter.

Here’s all you need to know from an action-packed Round 8.

West Adelaide’s Kobe Ryan marks strongly opposed to Sturt’s Casey Voss at Unley Oval on Sunday. Picture: SANFL Image/David Mariuz

Adelaide’s Josh Worrell leaps high to mark in front of Glenelg’s Liam McBean at the Bay on Saturday. Picture: Dean Martin

ROUND 8 SCOREBOARD

Central District 8.8 (56) d Norwood 7.9 (51)

Glenelg 12.10 (82) d Adelaide 12.8 (80)

South Adelaide 11.12 (78) d North Adelaide 7.9 (51)

Woodville-West Torrens 9.8 (62) d Port Adelaide 8.11 (59)

Sturt 8.15 (63) d West Adelaide 9.5 (59)

POWER RANKINGS

1. Sturt:

(8-0: Dodged a bullet with a hard-fought, come-from-behind win against West to stretch its unbeaten start to the season to eight games, setting the scene for a bumper King’s Birthday holiday clash against second-placed Glenelg at the Bay).

2. Glenelg:

(7-1: Illustrated it is a genuine premiership contender by coming from four goals behind against Adelaide to win a thriller at the Bay courtesy of a superb late goal from star wingman Matthew Allen).

3. Adelaide:

(5-3: Coach Michael Godden noted the Crows were outplayed by the Tigers for most of the game but still only went down by two points. Their current starting midfield of ruckman Kieran Strachan and on-ballers Harry Schoenberg, Matt Crouch and Sam Berry is the best in the competition).

4. Woodville-West Torrens:

(4-4: Has won three on the trot following a superb, long-range set shot goal from last year’s Ken Farmer Medallist Daniel Menzel, which dragged the team over the line in a heart-stopper against Port. The loss of ace midfielder Mitch Hardie to Geelong in the AFL mid-season draft hurts).

5. North Adelaide:

(4-4: Has lost its way – losing three of its past four games – and needs to turn things around quickly, starting with West at Richmond on Saturday. Is not playing with the same spark that saw it go within a whisker of winning last year’s flag).

6. Central District:

(4-4: Relied on an after-the-siren miss from Redleg Connor McLean to even its win-loss ledger at 4-4 at Elizabeth on Saturday in a performance that didn’t thrill coach Paul Thomas. But the hard-earned victory saw the Bulldogs already equal their wins tally of last year).

7. South Adelaide:

(3-5: Snapped a damaging five-game losing streak with an emphatic 27-point road win against North which kept it in touch with the top five. This performance was more of what was expected from the Panthers at the start of the season, although injuries to key men Zach Sproule (calf) and Matt Rose (hamstring) are a concern).

8. Port Adelaide:

(3-5: Came from the clouds to hit the front late against the Eagles before Menzel’s late matchwinner. Continues to be super-competitive and will benefit from the mid-season drafting of former Cat Quinton Narkle, who was best afield in his first SANFL game).

9. West Adelaide:

(2-6: Led top-of-the-table Sturt for most of the game at Unley in a very encouraging performance from the Bloods before heartbreakingly losing by four points. Has been very competitive this season but needs to turn some close losses into wins).

10. Norwood:

(0-8: Was a Connor McLean straight kick away from registering a draw and its first premiership points of the season against Central. But it has now lost its first eight games in its premiership defence in a remarkable fall from grace).

Crow Tyler Brown breaks clear of Tiger Jonty Scharenberg at Glenelg Oval. Picture: Dean Martin

NUMBERS GAME

(Top 12 Champion Data ranking points)

Daniel Fahey-Sparks (Sturt) 171

Jarrod Schiller (Central) 161

Michael Mattingly (West) 154

Harry Grant (Central) 149

Sam Frost (West) 145

James Battersby (Sturt) 142

Quinten Narkle (Port) 141

Luke Beecken (Eagles) 139

Tom Lewis (Sturt) 138

Josh Hone (Sturt) 134

Callum Park (West) 134

Matthew Snook (Glenelg) 133

THE STAT

4

Games decided by five points or fewer in round 8.

FLYING HIGH

Mark of the week

Jonty Scharenberg (Glenelg)

Tiger defender’s clutch, intercept grab late in the final quarter at the Bay wasn’t spectacular but it might have been game-saving as the Crows pushed hard to regain the lead in the final stages.

SAY WHAT

Quotes of the week

“I had a couple of ordinary moments in the last quarter so it was nice to be able to make the most of that moment (winning goal) and help us get the win. Reeva (Glenelg coach Darren Reeves) instructs me to take grass when I get the opportunity and I saw a bit of space and thought I would take it. I had the intention of passing initially but there wasn’t too much frontal pressure so I thought I would have a crack and thankfully it went through. It was a pretty cool moment but when it happened I knew there was still a bit of time to go, so I quickly thought about how we could close out the last couple of minutes. When the final siren went it was a great feeling because they (the Crows) are a great team.’’

Glenelg wingman Matthew Allen on his matchwinning goal against Adelaide

“I am not happy we won. We got a win and that’s all there was out of that game, we didn’t play well. I thought they (West) played really well for most of the game, they played pretty well in the first quarter and they jumped us. It was pretty disappointing and we didn’t play our brand of footy.”

Sturt coach Martin Mattner

“We rushed him back last time when he wasn’t ready through injury. He had a really good game last week in the development (reserves) side. He kicked three out of our eight goals today. Dan’s not worried or scared of being the one to kick clutch goals and take that moment – we’ve seen that before. He takes those moments strongly. When the game’s that tight, it’s those moments (Menzel’s goal) that take the game forward for you.”

Eagles coach Jade Sheedy on Daniel Menzel kicking the winning goal against Port

“Territory and inside-50s (63-31) we were dominant but our ball use in the forward half, especially in the first half, just wasn’t where it needed to be. We wasted opportunities and missed targets in open field. Our connection wasn’t there in the first half. We were doing a lot of things right to get the ball in our front-50 but we couldn’t capitalise. It was a massive ask at three-quarter-time. For the guys to bridge that gap on a tough day for scoring, their fight was huge. It took a pretty good kick (Menzel’s goal) for the Eagles to get in front.”

Port coach Tyson Goldsack

“This time there was reward for effort. It (victory) was just a great result and a lot of energy, which has been noticeable in the past few weeks. Everyone’s been positive. All of that hard work and the little things that players did went a long way towards winning. Very pleasing.’’

South coach Jarrad Wright

“South just dominated and their intensity was much greater than ours. They were so much more desperate and all credit to them but we have to get up again quickly. We have a short turnaround so we need to get back on the horse again.’’

North coach Jacob Surjan

Adelaide's Sam Berry fires out a handball under pressure from Glenelg’s Matthew Snook at the Bay oval. Picture: Dean Martin

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

ROUND 8

BULLDOGS v REDLEGS

Warren Partland’s votes

3 – Jarrod Schiller (CD)

2 – Pierce Seymour (Nor)

1 – Anzac Lochowiak (CD)

TIGERS v CROWS

Andrew Capel’s votes

3 – Liam McBean (Glen)

2 – Harry Schoenberg (Adel)

1 – Darcy Bailey (Glen)

ROOSTERS v PANTHERS

Gordon Armstrong’s votes

3 – Keegan Brooksby (SA)

2 – Joseph Haines (SA)

1 – Frank Szekely (NA)

MAGPIES v EAGLES

Steve Barrett’s votes

3 – Quinton Narkle (PA)

2 – Luke Beecken (WWT)

1 – Max Litster (WWT)

DOUBLE BLUES v BLOODS

Luke Marchioro’s votes

3 – James Battersby (Sturt)

2 – Josh Hone (Sturt)

1 – Callum Park (WA)

Port Adelaide’s Tom Jonas tries to break away from Woodville-West Torrens’ Connor Ballenden at Alberton Oval. Picture: Naomi Jellicoe

LEADERBOARD

11 – Tom Lewis (Sturt)

9 – Harry Schoenberg (Adel)

9 – James Battersby (Sturt)

8 – Liam McBean (Glen)

7 – Campbell Combe (NA)

7 – Mitch Hardie (WWT)

6 – Patrick Wilson (Sturt)

6 – Jackson Hately (Adel)

6 – Lachie Hosie (Glen)

6 – Jez McLennan (CD)

6 – James Rowe (WWT)

5 – Corey Lyons (Glen)

5 – Harry Grant (CD)

5 – Luke Partington (Glen)

5 – Jarrod Schiller (CD)

5 – Callum Park (WA)

4 – Harrison Wigg (NA)

4 – Hugh Jackson (PA)

4 – Andrew McPherson (Adel)

4 – Joseph Sinor (WWT)

4 – Noah Casalini (NA)

4 – Mitch O’Neill (SA)

3 – Trent Dumont (PA)

3 – Sam Skinner (SA)

3 – Steven Slimming (Sturt)

3 – Luke Redfern (WA)

3 – Matthew Allen (Glen)

3 – Billy McCormack (CD)

3 – Matt Crouch (Adel)

3 – Kobe Ryan (WA)

3 – Nick Moore (PA)

3 – Aaron Young (NA)

3 – Riley Knight (WWT)

3 – Quinton Narkle (PA)

SHARPSHOOTERS

Leading goalkickers

23 – Lachie Hosie (Glen)

21 – Zach Sproule (SA)

20 – Josh Hone (Sturt)

18 – Liam McBean (Glen)

15 – Connor Ballenden (WWT)

15 – Noah Casalini (NA)

15 – Luke Reynolds (Glen)

14 – Keenan Ramsey (NA)

14 – Lachlan Gollant (Adel)

14 – Lachlan Burrows (Sturt)

UP NEXT

Round 9

Woodville-West Torrens v Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Sat, June 10, 12.35pm

West Adelaide v North Adelaide (Hisense Stadium), Sat, June 10, 1.10pm

Port Adelaide v Central District (Alberton Oval), Sat, June 10, 1.10pm

Glenelg v Sturt (Stratarama Stadium), Mon, June 12, 2.10pm

South Adelaide v Norwood (Flinders University Stadium), Mon, June 12, 2.10pm