IN the penultimate round of the South Australian Women’s Football League (SAWFL), the top two sides won their respective clashes, while Salisbury’s good form continued with a victory over Christies Beach handing them the Saints’ third spot.

SALISBURY N/A | N/A | N/A | 7.5 (47)
CHRISTIES BEACH N/A | N/A | N/A | 2.2 (14)

GOALS:

Salisbury: S. Hoyle 3, J. Sonneman 2, P. Allan, N. Baker.
Christies Beach: N. Campbell , M. Bennett.

BEST:

Salisbury: S. O’Brien, A. Zbierski, M. Hollick, N. Baker, M. Freeman, A. Woodland.
Christies Beach: C. Cavouras, N. Campbell , S. Pratt, C. Frankland, M. Bennett.

In the most ladder-defining clash of the round, Salisbury backed up its impressive draw with Morphettville Park last week to knock over third placed Christies Beach and snatch third spot with a round to go. The Magpies had 12 scoring shots to four in the game, running away to a 33-point victory. Sophie Hoyle was the key goal scorer, booting three majors for the winning side, while Jayme-Lee Sonneman finished with two. Shailee O’Brien and Andie Zbierski were named as the Magpies’ best in the win, as were Monique Hollick and Nicole Baker (one goal). South Australian teenagers Madisyn Freeman (Salisbury) and Madison Bennett (Christies Beach) were both named among the best. Bennett was one of two goal kickers for the Saints, with Nicole Campbell the other. Campbell was named in the losing side’s best along with Czenya Cavouras.

ADELAIDE UNIVERSITY 4.4 | 5.4 | 6.8 | 7.13 (55)
FITZROY 0.0 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 2.7 (19)

GOALS:

Adelaide University: M. Zander, N. von Bertouch, R. Peate, K. Barltrop, E. Boles, J. Hill, E. O’Dea.
Fitzroy: C. Biddell 2.

BEST:

Adelaide University: M. Zander, E. Boles, C. Bond, R. Peate, N. Collie, E. O’Dea
Fitzroy: M. Newman, H. Martin, J. Tabb, S. DeKievit, C. Biddell

Adelaide University had a bit more breathing space it its win over Fitzroy than it’s narrow victory over Christies Beach the week before, with the The Blacks booting four goals to zero in the first term, then holding a 31-point lead over the Lions at half-time. Fitzroy came out firing in the third quarter, booting two goals to one, cutting the deficit to 27 points, but Adelaide University proved too strong, albeit rather inaccurate in the final term, kicking 1.5 to 0.2 in a 36-point win. The Blacks had seven individual goal kickers including South Australian Under 18s captain Esther Boles, while Fitzroy just had the one avenue to goal with Chelsea Biddell booting both majors for the Lions. Boles was named among the best with other Adelaide University goal kickers, Matilda Zander, Rhianna Peate and Ebony O’Dea, while Central Allies’ Madison Newman was named best for the Lions, as were fellow teenagers Hannah Martin and Jaime Tabb.

MORPHETTVILLE PARK 6.8 | 12.11 | 18.15 | 21.18 (144)
PORT ADELAIDE 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 (0)

GOALS:

Morphettville Park: L. Edwards 6, B. Bosley 5, C. Swanson 4, L. Whiteley 3, L. Buchanan 2, B. Trevena.
Port Adelaide: Nil.

BEST:

Morphettville Park: H. Priest, B. Bosley, L. Edwards, C. Swanson, T. Meyer, E. Sporn
Port Adelaide: N. Farrier, T. Grant, A. Gould, E. Mitchell, K. Howell

After a rare fumble last week and escaping with the draw in the final term, Morphettville Park asserted its dominance in a top against bottom clash. The Roos never looked like slowing down against Port Adelaide, booting 12 goals in the first half, with 23 scoring shots, then heading into the final break 123 points in front. To the Magpies credit, they restricted the home side to 3.3 in the final term, going down by 144 points with 39 scoring shots to zero. Lexia Edwards did all the major damage up front with six majors, but was far from along with Bronwen Iona Bosley (five), Caitlyn Swanson (four) and Lisa Whiteley (three) all providing targets in the front half. The big goal kickers were named among the best unsurprisingly, but it was Hannah Priest who was given best on ground honours for her performance. For the Magpies, Natasha Farrier, Tessa Grant and Ashlee Gould were all named among the best.

With one round remaining, Morphettville Park is guaranteed top spot and a place in semi-final one, with the next three sides neck and neck. Adelaide University sit on 18 points, one clear of Salisbury with the Saints just a point clear of Christies Beach. In the big game next week, Christies Beach has to knock off Morphettville Park to have a chance of moving out of fourth, with Adelaide University taking on Port Adelaide and Salisbury heading to Fitzroy.