Five things we learnt from Round 3 of the SANFL: North Adelaide back in business, Crows kids fail to fire and key Panthers recruit proves his worth
The combined output of Adelaide’s four first-round draft picks on Saturday is a concern. Their numbers plus North’s ‘best win’ headline the Round 3 SANFL wrap.
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They have plenty of time on their side but Adelaide’s four first-round draft picks who played in the SANFL on the weekend failed to shine.
Riley Thilthorpe, Chayce Jones, Fischer McAsey and Luke Pedlar – taken by the Crows in the past three drafts – managed only 34 disposals between them as Adelaide was thrashed by 83 points by premier Woodville-West Torrens, its biggest defeat against the Eagles.
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Third-year midfielder Jones was particularly disappointing, managing just five disposals, second-year defender McAsey had eight and 2020 selections Thilthorpe (10) and Pedlar (11) just reached double figures.
They did not kick a goal between them.
Disappointingly for Adelaide, its best two players were veterans who are not on the AFL list – SANFL captain Matthew Wright, 31, who had 21 disposals and kicked two goals, and fill-in 34-year-old club leadership development manager Daniel Jackson (21 and six clearances).
Two positives were Next Generation Academy pick-up Tariek Newchurch booting three goals from 16 disposals and last year’s secon-round draft pick Brayden Cook doing some nice things in his first game for the club after recovering from a shoulder injury.
He had 15 disposals and moved well.
Key forward Elliott Himmelberg was also solid, taking 10 marks, including five contested.
“It was a disappointing result for us but the Eagles are an outstanding outfit and played really well, they didn’t give us much of a chance to get our hands on the footy,’’ Adelaide coach Michael Godden said.
“There were individually some really solid performances but the negative was how we played collectively as a team.
“We hope that when we play the Eagles again, or any good team for that matter, that we have improved.”
SURJAN: OUR BEST WIN
North Adelaide mentor Jacob Surjan has hailed the grand finalist’s stunning 92-point thrashing of previously unbeaten Norwood as one of the best in his two years as coach.
Admitting to feeling the pressure after consecutive losses to start the season against Central District and impressive South Adelaide, Surjan’s side was under the pump leading into last Friday night’s match at The Parade, especially with a grand final rematch against the Eagles up next at Woodville Oval on Anzac Day.
But far from crumble under the heat, the Roosters flexed their muscles early and dominated from midway through the first quarter, restricting the Redlegs to only two goals.
FULL REPLAY: WATCH STURT’S ROUND 3 CLASH WITH WEST HERE
“It’s a tough competition the SANFL, there are some really good teams out there, so it was a great challenge for us to come to Norwood., a ground we hadn’t won at since 2009, and perform the way we did,’’ Surjan said.
“We knew we had to perform and we stood up, which was a great test of the players’ character.
“I challenged a few of our mids, who had been a bit down, and I'm really proud of the group for how they galvanised together.
“They are a good group but we needed to come out and show it by playing good footy.
“To keep Norwood to under 20 points (2.7, 19) was a phenomenal effort defensively while he also managed to kick over 100 points ourselves (16.15, 111), so it was a complete game.
“We needed to find our mojo after the first two rounds and everything clicked for us, it was very impressive, we were back at winning the contested ball.’’
Magarey Medallist Campbell Combe led the charge with an outstanding midfield display, opposed to Norwood captain Matthew Nunn, while fellow onballer Andrew Moore, captain Alex Spina and opportunist forward Lewis Hender (six goals) were other standout performers for North, which still has star defender Cameron Craig and pacy midfielder Billy Hartung to return from injury.
SKINNER PROVES HIS WORTH
South Adelaide remains atop the SANFL ladder following a hard fought nine-point victory against Port Adelaide at Noarlunga on Saturday and a new recruit was pivotal in the result.
Former Brisbane Lions key forward Sam Skinner booted three goals for the Panthers as well as hauling in five marks, but Panthers coach Jarrad Wright says the 24-year-old role is more than just hitting the scoreboard.
“For Sam, to come out and get three goals it was a nice return,” said Wright.
“I think more importantly, Sam and our big forwards aren’t getting outmarked and they are playing an important role in keeping our small forwards involved.”
The 24-year-old Skinner went head-to-head with Magpies duo Trent McKenzie and Jarrod Lienert in entertaining duels.
Skinner’s ability to impact contests was pivotal in helping the Panthers small forwards work into the contest as the game progressed.
Smalls Liam Fitt (three goals) and Jake Tarca (two) caused headaches for the Port defence, especially in the second half as the Panthers took control of the contest.
“Once the ball hit the deck early, they were able to clear it easy but we kept working at it and we used some more smalls to help compliment our tall forwards,” Wright said.
“We were able to change a few things structurally at half-time and it enabled us to put some more scoreboard pressure on them.’’
THOMAS’ DOGS MISSION
It didn’t look pretty early but Central District’s inexperienced side stuck to its guns on Saturday and made Glenelg earn its 34-point win.
Glenelg dominated the early stages at Elizabeth but wasted chances with inaccurate kicking for goal, having 14 of the first 17 inside-50s after 15 minutes but only leading 1.5 to 1.0. Central hit back late in the term, moving the ball impressively to have the last seven inside-50s for the quarter to trail by just three points at the first break.
And it’s no different than first-year coach, former Bulldogs premiership captain and Magarey Medallist, Paul Thomas expects.
“One of the key things with the Central District Footy Club is to never give in, they will just keep working and try to find a way – we tried to find a way,” he said.
And seven goals down early in the third quarter it again looked like it could get ugly – but the Dogs fought it out.
“We had a pretty clear plan and I thought we executed it at times but against a side of the quality of Glenelg at times isn’t going to hold up,” Thomas said.
“They had a lot of field position early but we were pretty impressed with our group to arrest that … from there we got a bit of field position, had a few of our own shots, got a little bit of confidence out of that but, like I said, at times isn’t quite the level against a quality outfit like Glenelg.”
Some big names kicked some even bigger goals this week 🤯
— SANFL (@SANFL) April 19, 2021
1ï¸âƒ£ Bryce Gibbs (@southadelaidefc)
2ï¸âƒ£ Tyson Stengle (@EAGLESWWTFC)
3ï¸âƒ£ Andrew Moore (@NorthAdelaideFC)
You decide the @Ch7Adelaide Goal of the Week! Vote now ðŸ“: https://t.co/2ASi7dfCtjpic.twitter.com/u7JF4UsJJ9
So how can a young side like Central find more consistency of performance?
“Well, you’ve got to train it, educate it, we’re a young group with some experienced heads … I thought our endeavour was outstanding, our endeavour to play for each other is outstanding but we just needed to be consistent for longer periods of time,” Thomas said.
A big positive is 19-year-old midfielder Harry Grant, recruited from Queanbeyan, who had a team-high 25 touches.
“He’s got a great attitude, he wants to learn … there’s a lot of upside for Harry,” Thomas said.
Kyle Presbury has had a consistent start to the season and playing him off half-back means the Dogs can “utilise his decision-making and his kicks are of real value to us”.
Darcy Pisani “has had a really good summer, he is really clear on his footy and what he is working on and he is playing some really good footy”.
Tigers coach Brett Hand wasn’t surprised by the Dogs’ fight.
“They were always going to come back at us … they play that tough, aggressive footy that Thommo has been renowned for,” Hand said.
“When they get out, they’re quick and they’re dangerous.”
MATTNER SEES BLUE SKIES AT STURT
The likely loss of prime midfielder Patrick Wilson for several weeks through injury will create more golden opportunities for his younger brigade, Sturt coach Marty Mattner said after a comfortable 50-point win over a poor West Adelaide on Saturday.
Coming into the game 0-2 at Unley Oval, then losing Wilson to a shoulder injury early in the second quarter, Mattner said it was heartening to see some younger heads step up in the former Crow’s absence.
The age profile has shifted considerably since Mattner was last at the club in 2018, with premiership players Sam Colquhoun, Tom Harms and Byron Sumner now gone.
Mattner’s mission of getting game time into his youngsters is tracking well so far; competitive against reigning premier Woodville-West Torrens before fading in the last quarter, and a 21-point loss to Norwood.
On Saturday, Casey Voss (32 touches and a goal) Jed McEntee (19 possessions) and Tom Lewis (20 touches but 0.5) influenced the outcome.
“Casey is getting better and better each week,” Mattner said.
“McEntee was good again … Tom Lewis today was great.
“Josh Shute has put together three (good games) in a row now. We just need to play them, give them opportunity.”
Mattner was also not bothered by wayward kicking for goal – the Double Blues registered 12.21 – instead focusing on the choking forward pressure which created many opportunities.
“I’m pleased we had 33 shots on goal,” he said.
“Only three players hurt us, Tom Lewis (0.5), Jordan Houlahan (1.3) and Steven Slimming (1.4). They’ve kicked 2.12 between them.
“I’m not worried about it.
“I felt like we were getting closer to a four quarter performance and we got it today.”
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