SANFL 2021: No. 1 pick contender Jason Horne and Crows draftee’s return headline five things we learnt from Round 2
South Adelaide teenager Jason Horne is a chance to be the first player selected in this year’s AFL Draft. On Saturday, he again showed why - in a big way.
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South Adelaide coach Jarrad Wright has hailed teenage sensation Jason Horne a “special player’’ after he stood up to some rough treatment to play a key role in the club’s upset win against grand finalist North Adelaide at Prospect Oval on Saturday.
Wright accused the Roosters of “targeting’’ the 17-year-old, who is odds-on to be the first Croweater selected at this year's AFL national draft, during the match and was full of admiration for the way he rose from the canvas to kick a crucial goal which put the Panthers ahead for good in the third quarter.
“It was a tough, physical game and it was a little bit disappointing that they came after Jason, a 17-year-old, and were scrapping and punching him behind the play,’’ Wright said after his side’s hard-fought, character-building, 11-point win.
“For a 17-year-old kid to put up with that for four quarters and then have an ice cold finish in the third quarter was nice.
“Not too many players, particularly one as young as him, would be able to do that, which again highlighted just how good he is.’’
REPLAY: WATCH HORNE’S PERFORMANCE AGAINST NORTH
SA’S BEST: EVERY SANFL CLUB’S TOP DRAFT PROSPECT
Horne was awarded a free kick at the northern end of Prospect Oval following a melee which saw several players from both sides hit the deck.
He coolly slotted the set shot from 30 metres as South, a preliminary finalist last season, fought back from a 12-point half-time deficit to remain unbeaten after two rounds.
Wright was angry at North’s treatment of Horne, describing it as “a bit too much’’.
But he praised his ability to not only deal with it but come through with flying colours and play such a significant role in the outcome.
Midfielder-forward Horne had 16 disposals, laid six tackles and kicked 1.2 in the low-scoring slugfest to enhance his high draft status, which has him in contention to be the No. 1 overall pick.
“I asked him (after the game) how he felt after getting treatment like that and he said, ‘I just deal with it and keep moving forward’,’’ Wright said.
“We need to do a better job of supporting him around those moments but we have plenty of good players for the opposition to come after, including (star veterans) Joel Cross and Bryce Gibbs, so I thought to pick on a 17-year-old kid was a bit much.
“But for opposition teams to go after a 17-year-old says something about him, it shows how highly he is rated.’’
Wright described Horne as a “real competitor’’ and said he hadn’t seen too many teenagers like him.
“He would play in a lot of AFL teams right now if he was eligible;’’ he said.
“He's quick, powerful, doesn’t back down from a contest and is composed under pressure in critical moments, which he shows each week.
“He’s a southy through and through who was born and bred to compete.
“To be consistently doing what he is at 17 at league level shows what a special player he’s going to be.’’
Horne had 19 disposals and kicked a goal in a midfield role against Adelaide in Round 1 before playing mostly forward against North.
“He played as a pure mid against the Crows but played only 65 per cent of game time because we’re managing his minutes after a long pre-season but he was still the third-highest rated player on the field,’’ Wright said.
“This week we held him more in the forward line because we know he's an excitement machine who can do some damage up there, which he showed.’’
It hasn't taken Jason Horne long to start collecting accolades 🎉
— SANFL (@SANFL) April 7, 2021
19 touches and a goal was enough to see him take home the @POWERADE Breakthrough Player of the Week 🆠pic.twitter.com/R4QGSctTvB
WINLESS DOUBLE BLUES LOOKING AT BIG PICTURE
It was close but not close enough for Sturt coach Martin Mattner against Norwood but he is hoping for the return of two key players as the Blues chase a breakthrough win against West Adelaide at home on Saturday.
Sturt pushed the Redlegs hard at Unley Oval on the weekend, claiming the lead in the second quarter after a slow start before falling short by 21 points but the Blues weren’t helped by the late withdrawal of small forward Josh Hone, while Abe Davis’s game was over in the second quarter with a hamstring injury.
The Blues have suffered successive losses to reigning premiers the Eagles and Norwood without premiership midfielder Patrick Wilson, who was Magarey Medal runner-up in 2019 with the Crows.
The powerhouse midfielder could be back for the clash with the Bloods after battling a shoulder issue.
“We’re hopeful,” Mattner said. “He’s next week or the week after, so that’s a positive.”
WATCH: REPLAY THE ROUND 2 SANFL ACTION HERE
The Blues were not willing to gamble on Hone’s hurt hamstring but he also could face the Bloods, who are without a win after last season claiming the wooden spoon.
While the return of Wilson and Hone would significantly lift Sturt’s chances of a breakthrough win, Mattner conceded the Blues had not been good enough for long enough so far this season.
Mattner said this year’s squad was much different from the one he took to flags in his first two seasons in charge in 2016-17.
“We’ve got 13 or 14 players 23 or under so we understand it’s not going to happen straight away,” he said of the consistent performances for full games the club is looking for to bring long-term success.
“I thought today (against Norwood) we were probably good for 20 minutes of the first quarter – after the first three goals they kicked – we were good for 20 minutes of the second quarter, when they kicked one late that gave them the lead, we were probably good for most of the third, then in the last quarter we were probably OK but we just didn’t hit the scoreboard as well as we would like.
“So we are close. We are around the mark. We are just not good enough for long enough at the moment. We just lack a bit of that ability – with the young kids – to concentrate for a full game and that’s what I’m still trying to instil in them.”
GOTCH REMAINING UPBEAT
West Adelaide remains winless after the first two rounds, but coach Brad Gotch is upbeat about his team’s start to the season.
The Bloods have suffered narrow defeats to Glenelg (11 points) and Adelaide (six points) but Gotch says his team is on the right track.
“We are hanging in there, we just have to make the most of our opportunities,” Gotch said.
“It is just little moments that are letting us down right now, but the guys are showing a lot of ticker.”
Gotch was also full of praise for a pair of defenders who stood tall against a talented Adelaide line-up featuring five first-round AFL draft picks.
Veteran Logan Hill racked up 27 disposals and provided plenty of run off half-back while key
defender Josh Ryan held Elliot Himmelberg to just 11 disposals and one goal.
“We know what we get with Josh, we call him the glove and today is a reason for that,” said Gotch.
“He was much improved compared to last week against Liam McBean and that was a good sign for us moving forward.
“As for Logan, I put it on him during the week after we watched Michael Virgin have 32 (disposals) playing as a small defender while Logan had 13.
“I thought he can do much more than that, we challenged him and he doubled his output and was fantastic for us.”
TOP CROW’S RETURN TO RICHMOND
Saturday marked the first time Riley Thilthorpe had returned to Richmond Oval to play since being drafted by the Crows in November but Adelaide coach Michael Godden said the 18-year-old was only focused on playing his role for his new club.
“I don’t think it was a big issue for Riley, he was just playing another game for Adelaide in pursuit of his first AFL game,” Godden said.
“He is professional, he knows that he is on a trajectory to get where he needs to go in his footy career and today was just another step for him.”
Thilthorpe played nine games for West Adelaide before being drafted to Adelaide with pick two at last year’s national draft.
He finished the clash against West with 12 disposals, including six marks and a goal, playing solely as a key forward.
Godden said Thilthorpe would slowly be exposed to ruck minutes in the coming weeks.
“He has played some ruck minutes in the trial games and he will play some ruck minutes at some point, but he has been drafted as a key forward so he will play as much key forward as possible,” Godden said.
TIGERS STAY COMPOSED UNDER PRESSURE
Glenelg might have had an errant 2.9 for its efforts at half-time against reigning premier Woodville-West Torrens on Saturday, but goalkicking wasn’t even mentioned at the break, according to coach Brett Hand.
Despite having four more scoring shots and a favourable inside 50 count, the Tigers were a point down; their forward line polish lost in blustery conditions at the Bay.
From early in the first quarter to midway through the second, Glenelg strung together seven consecutive behinds, as forwards Jack Kluske and Marlon Motlop coughed up golden opportunities, well within range, to bury the Eagles.
However, Hand was adamant goalkicking wasn’t a key main break topic, rather the importance of getting the ball within striking distance in a game beset by a “tough breeze”.
“I didn’t even mention goalkicking at half-time,” Hand told The Advertiser.
“It didn’t matter if we were going with the breeze or into the breeze. It was difficult to score with (it) as well. It was swirly.
“It was more about how you use the footy to get within range. Staying composed and getting reward for effort.”
Whatever Hand’s exact words were, they certainly worked as the Tigers flipped the script, piling on an accurate 11.4 in the second half, with eight goalkickers for the match.
Now 2-0 and with a major scalp in hand, Glenelg will be particularly dangerous when it can string a four-quarter game together.
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Originally published as SANFL 2021: No. 1 pick contender Jason Horne and Crows draftee’s return headline five things we learnt from Round 2
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