Five things we learnt from SANFL Round 10: Port Adelaide mid-season recruit Jed McEntee to play against former club Sturt
Former Sturt gun turned Port Adelaide recruit Jed McEntee will play against the Double Blues this weekend after an SANFL ruling. He headlines our SANFL Round 10 wrap.
SANFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from SANFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Port Adelaide recruit Jed McEntee has been cleared to play against his former club Sturt in the SANFL on Sunday – just 18 days after being selected at the AFL mid-season draft.
The Double Blues, who under AFL rules had the chance to stop him from playing against them this year, left the decision to the SANFL.
And on Tuesday the league ruled he could play, despite an expected backlash from Sturt supporters, whose 2-7 side lost to previously bottom-placed Adelaide at Unley Oval last Sunday.
“We will provide approval for Jed to play against Sturt and Sturt won’t stand in the way of that decision,’’ SANFL general manager football Matthew Duldig said.
“Ultimately we want to support the young footballer in his development and Port plays Sturt twice in the back end of the season.
Kayo is throwing open the doors to an epic amount of free live sport & shows on Kayo Freebies this June. No Credit Card. No Brainer. Register Free Now >
“There is every chance Jed could play AFL in the next few weeks and we want to give him the best opportunity to do that.
“While we don’t support players being uprooted out of their SANFL club mid-year, it is disruptive to our teams and their members and supporters, ultimately we need to support Jed in his ambitions with the rules as they currently stand, rather than hold him back.’’
Sturt coach Martin Mattner told The Advertiser after the team's loss to Adelaide that he was happy for the SANFL to make the call on whether McEntee played against it at Alberton Oval on Sunday.
The Double Blues also play Port in round 18.
It is understood the Sturt players want McEntee to be able to play against them rather than deny him a game and the chance to push his claims for an AFL debut.
Under mid-season draft rules, players who are selected by clubs in their home State are “not permitted to play against their original club unless otherwise agreed by all parties’’.
The player also has the right to return to his original club to participate in finals if their service is no longer required at their AFL club.
“It’s up to the SANFL to make a decision on that,’’ Mattner said of McEntee’s availability this week.
Sturt, which was the SANFL club hardest hit at the mid-season draft, also losing star forward Ash Johnson to Collingwood, felt the full brunt of their absence when they lost to the Crows, who were coming off five consecutive losses.
“The timing of the mid-season draft isn't great (for clubs) but it’s great for them (McEntee and Johbnson) because they get their dream of going onto an AFL list and get the opportunity to play AFL,’’ Mattner said.
“They want to get to the next level and we understand that.’’
McEntee, 20, averaged 19 disposals, five tackles and four clearances in his eight games for Sturt this season before being held to 12 disposals in his Port SANFL debut against premier Woodville-West Torrens last Saturday.
GODDEN’S BIG DAY OUT
Crows SANFL coach Michael Godden could have been forgiven for falling asleep on the job on Sunday.
He helped mastermind the previously bottom-placed Crows 10-point upset win against Sturt at Unley Oval on the back of just three hours sleep.
Godden was a part of Adelaide’s travelling party for Saturday night’s AFL clash against St Kilda in Cairns.
He returned to his Cairns hotel at 11.30pm on Saturday following the Crows’ thrilling six-point win against the Saints, went to bed at 1am and was up again at 4am to head to Cairns Airport.
He boarded a flight to Brisbane at 5.30am, flew out at 6am and after a two-hour wait at Brisbane Airport was on his way back to Adelaide.
Godden arrived at Unley Oval about half-an-hour before the SANFL clash “just as our players went out onto the ground to do their warm-ups’’.
He then addressed them before they snapped a run of five consecutive losses to jump off the bottom of the table.
While Godden made it to the ground in time, the Crows drew a line through two AFL-listed players who were eligible to play – midfielder Lachlan Sholl and key forward Elliot Himmelberg – because of the tight travel schedule.
They were a part of the touring party to Cairns but did not play — Sholl was an unused medical sub – but the club, given the travelling arrangements, ruled it would be too difficult for them to front up to a SANFL clash on virtually no sleep.
“The way I’m feeling now, that would have been way too difficult to play a league game,’’ Godden said.
GRIGG MAKES A STATEMENT
How appropriate that the real Mitch Grigg should show up at Noarlunga Oval on Monday to ignite Norwood to an upset victory against South Adelaide in star Panther Joel Cross’s 200th game.
While Grigg was leading the Redlegs’ charge, the Big Freeze and Neale Daniher’s incredible initiative to raise funds for the fight against MND was being held at the MCG.
Grigg’s father Chris was diagnosed with the disease in 2018.
Early this season the dual Magarey Medallist was sent back to the reserves after struggling for form and he admitted to being embarrassed by his demotion.
“It was a bit of a shock,” he said.
“But I was sent back there to do a job and that was to find the footy and get back to playing my way.
“I did my time and came back in to play my role for the team, whatever that may be. Twig (coach Jade Rawlings) and I had some really good conversations and he has installed confidence back in my game.”
Grigg was back to his dominant self against the Panthers, producing one of the great SANFL games, with a game-high 34 disposals, three goals, 12 marks and significantly laying nine tackles.
“I felt really good, was getting a bit of the footy and used it reasonably well,” he said.
“In the past I’ve not disposed of it as I wanted to. It’s a work in progress and hopefully I can be consistent for the rest of the year.”
WAYWARDNESS HURTING PANTHERS
South Adelaide coach Jarrad Wright said the opening quarter effort against Norwood, when the Panthers wasted prime scoring opportunities, was like a broken record.
“For three years we have had big starts, but kicked 2.8, 3.5 or 1.7,” he lamented.
“If you don’t capitalise on your 15 minutes of momentum the other teams will.
“Until we can take ownership of those moments to finish our work with a basic fundamental skill or just a shot on goal the rest can be undone pretty quickly.
“Tackle count also has been an issue, we have been out tackled for the past six weeks. There are a lot of things we are not doing well.”
THE EAGLES HAVE LANDED
It was almost the loss they had to have.
Still smarting from a 60-point smacking by Port Adelaide at Alberton Oval in round five, Woodville-West Torrens coach Jade Sheedy knew something had to change before the return bout at Oval Avenue last Saturday.
He admitted the issues may have existed before the whistle was blown that day down the Port.
“As a footy club we went in a little bit too confident in that game,” Sheedy said after turning the tables with a 68-point win against the Magpies at Woodville.
The reigning premier is obviously a balanced team, with a forward line an envy of the competition, and a class midfield boasting the likes of James Tsitas, Joe Sinor, Riley Knight and Dane McFarlane.
However, Sheedy admitted his defence that day in May – especially in a disastrous second quarter when the wheels completely fell off and Port kicked seven goals to one – was not up to standard.
He says there has been a renewed emphasis on defence in the past five weeks and that’s been reflected in a more consistent form line (4-1), with Clay Cameron being sent to the backline.
“Our defence was really bad against them last time,” Sheedy said.
“We talked about (the loss) not in a revenge way. We weren’t playing the footy we are now.
“We’ve really built over the last month. They showed us up and sometimes you need to lose to get things right.”
What about the hang time from @SturtFC's Riley Grundy? Got you covered @brodiegrundy? 👀✈ï¸ðŸ”¥ pic.twitter.com/uOL1BGuixO
— SANFL (@SANFL) June 15, 2021
Since that loss, the Eagles have been a far stingier outfit, conceding an average of just under 62 points a game compared to 75 across the first five rounds.
In May, Port’s Simon Wong, Dylan Williams, Ben Edwards and Sean Samblich combined for 10 goals against the Eagles but they could only muster one on Saturday, with Sam Rowland collecting 24 touches down back and producing plenty of one percenters and rookie Luke Beecken (17 disposals) continuing his good form.
“We’re pretty spoiled up forward. but we still think our attack will come from our defence,” Sheedy said.
“For us defence is number one and we score off the back of that.”
Meanwhile, Sheedy said he was still confident small forward Tyson Stengle would find a new AFL home despite being overlooked in the mid-season rookie draft.
“It’ll happen, if somebody doesn’t draft Tyson Stengle I don’t know what they’re thinking quite honestly,” he said.
“Tyson’s really clean and looks a step above this level. He’s in a really good space and doing some good things off the field.
“He’s really embraced the past couple of weeks on the field when he might not have been happy with all the hype around him.
“He got back on the horse really quickly.”
More Coverage
Comeback ‘King’ to play SANFL grand final after shattering injury
Norwood legend Matt Panos will complete a fairytale – and miraculous – comeback from a career-threatening knee injury and play in Sunday’s SANFL grand final against Glenelg.
Down but never out: Hosie defies odds in remarkable SANFL comeback
Told he wasn’t going to play again this year after a “shocking’’ knee injury, Glenelg star Lachie Hosie made a stunning return in the SANFL preliminary final. He tells Andrew Capel how.