Sturt crush Adelaide in scrappy SANFL battle

STURT can look forward to another premiership bid with more optimism in its attack after beating Adelaide at Unley Oval.

Sturt captain Zane Kirkwood had a huge influence in the win over Adelaide. Picture: Matt Loxton

STURT secured the vital two premiership points when it belted Adelaide by 72 points at Unley Oval on Sunday.

No surprises there, this contest always loomed as an opportunity for the Double Blues to grab some much-needed percentage against the winless Crows struggling with injuries.

But it was the successful return of Jake Sutcliffe and the form of another injury-plagued forward Rory Taggert which would have satisfied the Double Blues camp as they up the ante in their bid for a third consecutive flag.

Taggert had nine shots at goal for a 5.4 haul and Sutcliffe, making his first league appearance since last year’s grand final triumph after being struck down by a knee injury, bagged three goals.

“It is great to have Jake back, he is hard to match up on,” Double Blues coach Marty Mattner said. “He is quick, can jump, is quite good on the ground and can chase and tackle.

“All the forwards worked well today. We did not play well in the first half and were a bit fumbly, although our pressure was good all game.

“They were competitive in the first half, but we got good ball movement in the second half and opened them up a bit.”

The action was scrappy in the first half when the Crows were up for the fight, getting plenty of ball from the clearances and testing the home side.

The Crows, who lost Andrew McPherson to their hamstring curse late in the second quarter, seriously challenged the Double Blues, only to be over run in the second half.

There was much more fluency in the Double Blues’ movement after half time and the confidence grew as the game lengthened. Midfielders James Battersby and Zane Kirkwood got their hands to plenty of ball and while defender Byron Sumner did not have many possessions, is attack on the contest set a tone.

Crows coach Ryan O’Keefe was impressed with his side’s endeavour, especially in the first half.

“Too many things keep going against us,” he said. “We lose players early and it seems it is not a fair game out there at the moment.

“We have young players battling who just want a fair game. They are equal out there and part of the competition.”

STURT 3.3 7.9 14.11 20.16 (136)

ADELAIDE 3.6 5.7 7.10 9.10 (64)

BEST - Sturt: Battersby, Taggert, Kirkwood, Harms, Sumner, Greenslade. Adelaide: Wilson, Hadden, Himmelberg, Atkins,

GOALS - Sturt: Taggert 5, Sutcliffe 3, Greenslade, McAdam, Read, M. Evans 2, Dodd, Crocker, Hone, Kirkwood. Adelaide: Hadden 4, Himmelverg, Jarman, Murphy, Atkins, McMahon.

INJURIES - McPherson (hamstring), Edwards (ankle).

UMPIRES - Schramm, Hundertmark, Sobieraj.

CROWD - 3469 at Peter Motley Oval, Unley.