Five things we learnt from SANFL Round 9: Plundered Sturt slams AFL mid-season draft
Sturt has scolded the AFL’s mid-season draft after being gutted of talent. The Double Blues’ strong statement headlines our Round 9 SANFL wrap.
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Sturt has slammed the AFL mid-season draft, describing it as “abhorrent’’ and calling on the league to restrict its player purge to one per club.
Six days after losing exciting forward Ash Johnson to Collingwood and speedy midfielder Jed McEntee to Port Adelaide, the Double Blues say they will write to the AFL to express their concerns.
Sturt’s SANFL finals hopes were virtually extinguished in the space of 30 minutes last Wednesday night when the Magpies swooped on Johnson with the third pick at the draft and Port took McEntee with the 13th selection.
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The departures of the two Double Blues prime movers comes on the back of the retirement of dual Magarey Medallist Zane Kirkwood following a debilitating back injury and a season-ending shoulder injury to star midfielder Patrick Wilson.
“The timing of this draft is abhorrent to us and the other SANFL clubs,’’ said Sturt chief executive Sue Dewing, whose club sits seventh on the ladder with a 2-6 win-loss record.
“We see it has digressed from its original intent, which was to assist with mid-season gaps in AFL lists due to injury.
“It’s not that now, it’s simply clubs trying to get a jump on opposition clubs before the national draft and that’s what we’re finding hard to stomach.
“We are under no illusions, we know that we are a pathway club to the AFL and we take that seriously, currently having 18 players in the AFL system, which is a testament to Sturt’s commitment to that pathway.
“We want our players to play at the highest level and we know our players want to play at that level.
“In no way do we begrudge Jed or Ash of that pathway, we are very pleased for them.
“But the timing (of the mid-season draft) is abhorrent.’’
Dewing said club president Jason Kilic would write to the AFL calling on it not to allow more than one player to be taken from any club in the mid-season draft.
“Jason will be writing a letter to the AFL suggesting that maybe only one player can be taken from any one team,’’ she told FIVEaa.
“You saw Westies (West Adelaide) back in 2019, they had two taken (Will Snelling by Essendon and John Noble by Collingwood), whether or not you can say that contributed to their results for the remainder of that season, but they ended up with the wooden spoon.
“I’m sure some of their supporters believe that it did.
“In comparison, us at Sturt, we’ve had an injury-ravaged season, we are a young team, we’ve had several narrow losses, we are starting to see Marty’s (coach Martin Mattner’s) game plan resonate among the squad and those two players were pivotal to our team.
“We’re not saying it’s the end of our season because we are a resilient club with a ‘can do’ attitude but it still is that timing.
“Jason is going to suggest to increase the list sizes, take more (players) at the national draft, because the impact it has on us mid-season is damaging.’’
Johnson and McEntee were among four SANFL players drafted last Wednesday, along with Norwood’s Jackson Callow (Hawthorn) and Woodville-West Torrens’ Cooper Sharman (St Kilda).
INJURIES HIT PANTHERS HARD
South Adelaide is sitting pretty in second spot on the SANFL ladder but its Noarlunga Oval medical room is fast becoming crowded.
Already missing a host of key players, including captain Matt Rose (shoulder) and star small forward Eamon Wilkinson (leg), the Panthers suffered a host of new injuries on the weekend.
Tyson Brown was carried from the field during the final quarter of Sunday’s thrilling three-point win against West Adelaide at Richmond Oval while ruckman Alex Cailotto spend most of the second half on the bench with a corked leg.
“Tyson’s was an ankle and a pretty solid one as well, so he will probably be looking at a lengthy stint on the sidelines,” South coach Jarrad Wright said.
“We lost Rose last week and James Loneragan broke his hand at training during the week, had surgery on Friday and will be out for four-to-five weeks as well.”
Small forward Liam Fitt, who has played seven league games this season, went down in the reserves, suffering a fractured leg against the Bloods.
Despite the growing injury list, Wright was still positive about 7-2 South’s position at the midway point of the season.
“We probably have seven or eight of our best 22 out and it’s going to put some pressure on our depth,’’ he said.
“But we have been able to bank some wins early, which has left us in a good position.
“We will be ready for another big game against Norwood next Monday.’’
HAND’S “EMOTIONAL’’ RETURN TO THE PARADE
New Glenelg coach Brett Hand rode an emotional rollercoaster at The Parade on Sunday.
Not only did his top-of-the-table team storm back from a 47-point third quarter deficit to win by one point to remain unbeaten after nine rounds, but Hand was returning to his old stomping ground as a coach for the first time in more than a decade.
Hand, who was born in Broken Hill, played 17 SANFL league games for Norwood from 1989 to 1991 before starting his coaching career with the Redlegs’ under-19s in 2003.
He progressed to coach the reserves, guiding them to a grand final berth in 2006, spending five years in the coaching box at The Parade before heading to Darwin as part of his coaching progression.
This led to a decade at Greater Western Sydney prior to his appointment as Glenelg coach in December.
“It was pretty emotional coming back here, being back here for the first time in a while,’’ Hand said after the Tigers’ remarkable comeback victory.
“I played and coached here, so it was pretty sweet to win against the old team like we did.’’
Hand’s Glenelg side kicked only two goals in the first half against a Norwood side that tackled its heart out, recording a whopping 113 for the game, but booted the final eight majors to extend its winning start to the season to nine games.
“There is great belief within the group,’’ Hand said of his side’s ability to claw its way off the canvas to record a memorable victory.
ROOSTER CROWS DOWN BACK
Keenan Ramsey can expect more action in defence after having a huge influence in North Adelaide’s solid 40-point win against Adelaide at Prospect Oval on Saturday.
Best known for his work in attack, Ramsey shut down star Crows key forward Billy Frampton for most of the game before he kicked two final quarter goals when the result was decided.
“Keenan gives us flexibility to throw him back or forward,” Roosters coach Jacob Surjan said of Ramsey, who took 10 marks.
“He is such a good reader of the ball and uses it really well. We have been tinkering with Keenan back there and we like to have that third tall who can drop off and mark the ball. He does a very good job one-on-one.”
North did not come out of the game unscathed, with star midfielder Billy Hartung set for another stint on the sidelines after he strained a hamstring in the first quarter.
It was the injury-prone Hartung’s first game back from a similar issue and Surjan said the club would be cautious with his return.
“We are all a bit flat for him,” Surjan said.
“He is so important to our team. We will probably give him a bit longer with his rehab and get some conditioning into him.
“He has done everything right with his body, so it is disappointing for Billy. But mentally he is strong and he will fight back.”
BULLDOG MAKES HIS MARK
A teenage rookie defender is making his mark at Central District.
Nineteen-year-old Leek Alleer has earned high praise from Bulldogs coach Paul Thomas after three consecutive games in the league side.
Alleer was viewed as a goalkicker at Central before six-times premiership player Thomas was appointed senior coach late last year.
He has come through the club’s junior program and had 10 disposals in his league debut against Sturt at Unley Oval in round seven while nearly pulling down a mark of the year contender over the Double Blues’ Hamish Allan and another aerial specialist, Ash Johnson.
Alleer might have given away a couple of free kicks in the second quarter of Saturday’s five-goal home loss to premier Woodville-West Torrens, but he showed he could be an integral part of Thomas’s side moving forward, restricting the dangerous Daniel Menzel to a relatively quiet 11 touches and two goals.
He also had 10 disposals and hauled in seven marks himself, while superbly picking out teammate Brendan Dew inside 50 for a goal in the final quarter.
“We like how he attacked the ball and jumped at it,” Thomas said of his first impressions of Alleer.
“He has the work ethic, the thirst to get to as many contests as he can, to make the opposition play at all times, whether with it’s a late fist, some closing speed or a hand on the jumper.
“He’s growing in stature every minute.”
Meanwhile, with the Eagles’ glittering forward line described as a “bit of a jam down there” – with Tyson Stengle, the Menzel brothers, Daniel and Troy, Jake Von Bertouch, Zane Williams and Jack Hayes providing the heavy artillery in front of goals – coach Jade Sheedy said he was in a fortunate enough position to send off-season recruit Clay Cameron to defence.
The former Gold Coast Sun had six goals after the opening three rounds.
However, he was among the best players at Elizabeth Oval, providing plenty of rebound with 20 touches and six marks as the Dogs struggled to find multiple goalkickers apart from the mercurial Aiden Grace, who kicked two freakish majors.
“We really like what he’s doing, playing on smalls or talls and he’s an elite runner,” Sheedy said.
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