SANFL Fixture 2022: All the marquee games and full draw poster
History will be made in the SANFL this season, with a full round of games to be played on Good Friday for the first time. DOWNLOAD your 2022 fixture poster now.
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History will be made in the SANFL this season, with a full round of games to be played on Good Friday for the first time.
In what will be a bonanza of holiday football spread over nine hours, premiership contenders South Adelaide and Sturt will kick off proceedings at Noarlunga Oval at 1.10pm on Friday, April 15.
North Adelaide will play Central District at Prospect at 2.10pm followed by two games at 4.10pm - Glenelg against Adelaide at the Bay and premier Woodville-West Torrens against West Adelaide at Woodville
FULL DRAW: DOWNLOAD YOUR 2022 SANFL FIXTURE POSTER HERE
Traditional rivals Norwood and Port Adelaide will round out a historic day by playing the final match of round three at The Parade at 7.40pm.
“To have a record five games played on Good Friday across the afternoon and at night will provide a unique opportunity to showcase the Hostplus SANFL League and maximise attendances,” SANFL general manager football Matthew Duldig said.
“We know from previous years that fans and players enjoy footy on Good Friday and it’s become a terrific day for families to get out and support their favourite SANFL club at the start of the Easter weekend.”
The Good Friday extravaganza is a key feature of the 2022 SANFL fixture, which will see Adelaide and Port open the season at Adelaide Oval on Friday, April 1.
The 4.10pm twilight game will be played as a curtain raiser to the round three AFL Showdown between the Crows and Power.
Each of the 10 SANFL clubs will play 18 games over 19 rounds.
Finals, which will be played at Adelaide Oval, will be staged over four weeks, beginning on Sunday, August 28, and culminating with the grand final on Sunday, September 18.
FULL DRAW: DOWNLOAD YOUR 2022 SANFL FIXTURE POSTER HERE
Other highlights of the fixture include:
– A RUSSELL Ebert tribute match between Port and West at Loxton in round seven on Sunday, May 22.
– OTHER country matches between Norwood and the Bloods at Port Lincoln’s Centenary Oval in round four on Sunday, April 24, and North and Adelaide at Whyalla’s Bennett Oval in round 15 on Saturday, July 16.
– AN Anzac Day grand final rematch between premier Woodville-West Torrens and Glenelg, to be held on a Monday, at Woodville Oval in round four.
– A STATE game against Western Australia planned for the May 15 weekend.
– INDIGENOUS Round being held in round 13, with the match of the round being the Eagles and Norwood.
– THE Eagles to host a night game against the Crows in round seven on Friday, May 20, following the installation of new floodlights at Woodville Oval.
Match starting times have been locked in only until the end of round six as the SANFL waits for confirmation of AFL fixturing from May 20.
SANFL to honour Ebert with tribute game
The SANFL will honour legendary Port Adelaide footballer Russell Ebert with a tribute game this year.
In what will be an emotional weekend, Port will play West Adelaide at Loxton in the Riverland on Sunday, May 22.
The round seven fixture – a Bloods home game – will feature a curtain raiser between Ebert’s two country clubs, Loxton and Waikerie, before the main event at 2.10pm.
Ebert, the only four-times Magarey Medallist, was born in Berri before moving to Loxton with his family and playing with the Tigers.
He later joined Waikierie after being employed by the town’s Savings Bank.
Ebert died at age 72 in November following an 11-month battle with cancer.
The brilliant midfielder played a club-record 392 games with Port in the SANFL from 1968-78 and 1980-85, winning premierships in 1977, 1980 and 1981.
“The SANFL is very pleased to support this wonderful initiative which will bring together community football and the SANFL State League to pay tribute to Russell’s remarkable football career, and fittingly, where it all began at a grassroots level,’’ SANFL chief executive Darren Chandler said.
“Russell was a champion of the game in our state, being the only player to win four Magarey Medals. He made a significant contribution at the SANFL and at the Port Adelaide Football Club after growing up in the Riverland and his work throughout the community rivals his achievements on the ground.”
A Magarey Medallist in 1971, 1974, 1976 and 1980, Ebert won six best and fairest awards for Port (1971, ‘72, ‘74, ‘76, ‘77 and ‘81) and played 29 State games for South Australia.
He spent one season in the VFL in 1979, playing 25 games for North Melbourne as a fly-in, fly-out player before returning to the Magpies.
Inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame and South Australian Football Hall of Fame, he was elevated to Legend status in the South Australian Sport Hall of Fame last year.
Ebert captain-coached Port from 1983-85 and was non-playing coach in 1986-87 before coaching Woodville from 1988-90.
Son Brett won the 2003 Magarey Medal and played 166 AFL games and kicked 240 goals for the Power from 2004-13. Nephew Brad also represented the club 184 times.
West will play Port in the tribute game, with the victor claiming the Russell Ebert Tribute Match cup, because the Riverland is its recruiting zone.
The game could also be the Bloods’ star recruit Hamish Hartlett’s first against the Magpies after he rejoined the club from which he was drafted by Port at pick four in 2008 following 193 AFL games with the Power from 2009-21.
Ebert’s daughter Tammie said the game would be “a great opportunity to be able to celebrate dad’s life’’.
“Dad grew up playing at Loxton and also played at Waikerie before moving to Port, so it’s a great opportunity to showcase the (SANFL) game while also having those (Riverland) teams that meant so much to him play in the curtain raiser. It's a real privilege,’’ she said.
The Ebert tribute game will be one of three SANFL matches expected to be held at country venues this season, which will start on Friday, April 1.
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Originally published as SANFL Fixture 2022: All the marquee games and full draw poster
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