ALL games for League, Reserves and Under 18s kicked off last weekend in a fantastic round of footy, with plenty of young talent on display. The feature matches for the round were the clashes between Eagles and North – in rematch after 2018 19th man saga, the clashes in all grades were bound to be fierce with no love lost between these clubs. 

Feature Games:

Woodville-West Torrens v North Adelaide

Under 18 

North Adelaide 8.5 (53) defeated by Woodville-West Torrens 23.9 (147)

The Eagles U18 side secured a 94 point win over North. It was a dominant display from the start with the highly fancied young Eagles side setting the game up with a seven-goal first quarter. Eagles player Harry Schoenberg completed an all round game with a goal and 17 out of 28 contested possessions, along with Josh Morris finishing with a big five goal haul. Lachlan McNeil is a player to watch in the midfield for the Eagles, doing well around the contest with 12 clearances. North struggled all day, but the clear highlight for the Roosters was impressive talent Harrison Magor, who held firm with 28 disposals and 13 clearances. 

Reserves 

Woodville-West Torrens 16.10 (106) defeated North Adelaide 11.6 (72)

The Reserves match was simply the Kysiah ‘Kozzie’ Pickett show. This talented U18 player is on the rise (above packs, literally) but what he can do on the field is unique to few players. He had five goals by early in the 3rd quarter, finished with 6.2 and whenever the ball was near him something good happened for his side. He will no doubt feature heavily in draft calculations for this year. The other young gun, but different type of player was Jackson Mead, who is a tireless midfield worker and he finished with 26 disposals and one goal in high quality performance. Expect to see Pickett and Mead in League side very soon. The Eagles ended up winners by 34 points

League

Woodville-West Torrens 13.12 (90) defeated North Adelaide 8.17 (65)

In the tough hitout, Eagles took the victory by 25 points. The rematch had some heat and aggression from both sides, but the Eagles under new coach Sam Lonergan looked well drilled and an experienced side hard to beat at home. Ex-Sydney Swan Jordan Foote impressed in his League debut for the Eagles, and consistent performers James Boyd and Jack Hayes were among the best. North will no doubt bounce back, but having lost some young and also experience talent in 2018 draft will need to regroup. 

Around the Grounds:

West Adelaide vs. Port Adelaide Magpies

League: West Adelaide 8.6 (54) defeated by Port Adelaide 11.19 (85)

Port Adelaide kicked off its season with a comfortable 31-point victory over West Adelaide. Jack Trengove opened eyes with a whopping 44 disposals, seven marks, eight clearances, eight inside 50s, 11 tackles and one goal, while of the first year players, Boyd Woodcock found 20 disposals, four inside 50s and booted a goal, while Kai Pudney had five inside 50s and six marks from 24 disposals. For West Adelaide, Chris Schmidt and Murray Waite had team-high disposals of 24.

Norwood vs. Glenelg

League: Norwood 9.15 (69) defeated Glenelg 9.10 (64)
Reserves: Norwood 12.10 (82) defeated Glenelg 10.3 (63)
Under 18s: Norwood 6.7 (43) defeated by Glenelg 10.15 (75)

Norwood took the honours at senior level against Glenelg, albeit in a tight five-point win at League level, and 19-point win in the Reserves. Will Gould was the talk of the town, with the potential top 10 draft pick racking up 24 disposals, three marks and 11 rebounds out of defence for the Tigers in the loss. Finn Betterman had 13 disposals and four rebounds, while the senior talent of the Redlegs showed out in the end with Lewis johnston and Mitch Grigg combining for 70 disposals, 23 marks, 11 clearances, 11 inside 50s and nine rebounds. The Reserves saw potential first round prospect, Dylan Stephens tear up the game with 35 disposals, 11 clearances, three marks, three inside 50s and two rebounds, while Isaac Saywell had 28 touches and six marks. The talented Cameron Taheny was solid with 15 disposals, nine marks, three inside 50s and one goal. At Under 18s level, Glenelg’s Callum Park racked up 32 disposals, 11 marks, five inside 50s, three clearances, three rebounds and three clearances, while Riley Hilder had a massive 12 clearances and 15 hitouts to go with 24 disposals, five marks and a goal. For the Redlegs, Henry Nelligan collected 34 disposals, eight marks, seven clearances, two inside 50s, four rebounds, 11 tackles and a goal.

South Adelaide vs. Central District

League: South Adelaide 16.6 (102) defeated Central District 6.7 (43)
Reserves: South Adelaide 8.9 (57) defeated by Central District 14.7 (91)
Under 18s: South Adelaide 22.6 (138) defeated Central District 4.7 (31)

South Adelaide claimed a massive 107-point win in the Under 18s competition courtesy of six majors to Beau McCreery. Along with his six-goal haul, McCreery laid 11 tackles, had 21 disposals, took six marks (four contested, as well as seven inside 50sfor a massive 159 Dream Team points. Connor Sampson and Samuel Hindes also booted four goals to create havoc up the forward end, while Marcus Lippett finished with 29 disposals, six marks, seven clearances, 11 inside 50s, and two rebounds. Nicholas Kraemer was also a standout with 26 touches, eight marks, seven tackles, eight clearances, seven inside 50s. For the Eagles, Tyrone Milera had 24 touches, eight clearances and seven reounds, while bottom-age talent and last year’s National Under 16 Championships Most Valuable Player (MVP) Corey Durdin had 16 disposals, eight clearances and six inside 50s. At senior level, South Adelaide claimed a 59-point win in the League, while Central District took home the points in a 34-point triumph at Reserves level. Overager, Hayden Sampson had 19 touches, three inside 50s and three tackles, while South Australian state represenative last year, Emmamuel Irra finished with a huge 27 disposals, four inside 50s and two rebounds.

Sturt vs. Adelaide

League: Sturt 8.13 (61) defeated by Adelaide 14.9 (93)

Adelaide proved too good for the Double Blues at League level, with Patrick Wilson and Andrew McPherson both impressing in the first game for 2019. Jordon Butts had 20 disposals and five rebounds playing out of defence, while Ned McHenry had 20 touches, three inside 50s, three rebounds and four tackles. Darcy Fogarty played in defence and had 10 rebounds to go with his 18 touches and six marks. For Sturt, Sam Colquhoun was the standout with 34 disposals, 11 marks and seven rebounds. 

West Adelaide vs. Sturt

Reserves: West Adelaide 9.5 (59) defeated by Sturt 10.6 (66)
Under 18s: West Adelaide 7.8 (50) defeated Sturt 7.7 (49)

West Adelaide claimed the points in the Under 18 match over Sturt, as Will Day had a game-high 35 touches, 11 marks, five tackles, six rebounds, three inside 50s and two clearances. Jason Westley was also impressive for the Bloods, collecting 25 disposals, nine marks, four clearances, three inside 50s and five rebounds and a goal. For the Double Blues, Mani Liddy had 28 disposals, six clearances, eight inside 50s, six tackles and five marks, while Harry Weeks had 27 disposals, 14 marks and seven rebounds. In the Reserves, Sturt grabbed the win, as Anzac Lochowiak was impressive with 24 disposals, two marks, five clearances, nine tackles and a goal ,whiel Jed McEntee had 21 disposals, three marks, five clearances and nine tackles.