West Adelaide has become SANFL’s scoring machine

WEST Adelaide has reinvented itself as the SANFL’s highest scoring team and will be out to dish out more of the same against Adelaide on Sunday.

WEST Adelaide has reinvented itself as the SANFL’s highest scoring team.

The Bloods, who host Adelaide in Richmond today, were renowned for their miserly defence under former coach Andrew Collins and it became the framework for consecutive top-three finishes in 201​2-13.

But West has increased its firepower this year without significantly compromising the defensive side of its game.

The third-placed Bloods are averaging a league-best 92.5 points per game – about four goals more than last season when they finished ninth during Mark Mickan’s first​ year at the helm and 9.4 points better than ​2015’s​ second-highest scoring club, Adelaide.

​West​ is conceding 70.3 points per game​ this year -​ the fifth-best defen​sive record​ in the competition.

In Collins’ final ​two seasons, West scored​ 71.​9 and 84.1 points per game​, while coughing up 64.8 and 65.3 points on average.

Mickan said ​his​ team remained a “work in progress” ​and its attacking success was built not only on quicker ball movement, but its defensive ability​​.

“What we’ve tried to do is emphasise defence more than anything because you can score from turnovers, stoppages and kick-ins,” Mickan said.

“We don’t set out to score a certain number of goals, we set out to be as strong defensively as we can as a starting point.​”​

Another key to West’s scoring prowess has been finding more avenues to goal.

Last season Jono Beech and Michael Still led the club’s goalkicking with just 18 majors.

This year Shannon Green, who Mickan switched from running defender to small forward in the off-season, has booted a team-high 29 goals.

Aaron Fielke (26 goals), Beech (22) and Jason Porplyzia (15) have also been prominent.

“It’s personnel but also equally it’s speed of ball movement that contributes to scoring,” Mickan said.

“Greeny is physically strong, has got good speed and applies good forward pressure in particular so he’s got a lot of attributes which make him a candidate of a good forward.”

The Crows will be bolstered by the inclusion of young midfielder Matt Crouch, who was unlucky to lose his spot in the AFL side after an outstanding performance in the Showdown last weekend.

SANFL Sunday

Glenelg v Eagles

Glenelg, 2.10pm

South Adelaide v Norwood

Noarlunga, 2.10pm

Radio: LifeFM

Sturt v Port Adelaide

Unley, 2.10pm

TV: 7mate

West Adelaide v Adelaide

Richmond, 2.10pm

North Adelaide v Central District

Prospect, 2.10pm

Radio: 5RPH