PORT ADELAIDE has moved through to the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Grand Final, as their AFL rivals Adelaide also won through for the right to a preliminary final. In the Reserves, Norwood won in overtime with a one-point thriller over Sturt, while Woodville-West Torrens held on against Central District.

LEAGUE:

Adelaide 21.13 (139) defeated Norwood 11.11 (77)

Adelaide’s SANFL side has kept its hopes of a premiership alive with a dominant 62-point belting of Norwood to eliminate last year’s grand finalists. The Crows were on from the first bounce, booting six goals to one, before racing out to a 11.5 (71) to 2.4 (16) lead at half-time to all but end the contest. The margin was 67 points by the final change, before the Redlegs booted some last quarter consolation goals in a high-scoring 11-goal term to go down by more than 10 goals. In a remarkable game, the Redlegs had an extra 41 disposals, but over-used them with 60 more handballs but 29 less kicks, while the Crows ran at an elite 82 per cent disposal efficiency. The Crows also won the clearances (37-31) and inside 50s (59-46) in the other key statistical areas. Patrick Wilson was the Crows’ best ball winner in the match, racking up 27 touches, 12 marks, six tackles, four clearances and four inside 50s, while Myles Poholke booted two goals from 23 disposals, 10 marks, three tackles, three clearances and seven inside 50s. Tyson Stengle booted two majors from 19 touches and four marks, while Ned McHenry snared four goals, and Shane McAdam piled three on. For the Redlegs, Matthew Panos had his fair share of the ball with 26 touches, nine marks, five clearances and two goals, while Declan Hamilton (25 disposals, seven marks and two goals) and Josh Richards (25 disposals, eight marks and six tackles) were also impressive. Under-18 draft prospect Dylan Stephens also stood tall in the final with 23 disposals, one mark, three tackles and three inside 50s.

Glenelg 11.6 (72) defeated by Port Adelaide 11.10 (76)

Port Adelaide Magpies became the first side into the 2019 SANFL Grand Final with a thrilling four-point win over Glenelg in the major semi-final. The Magpies lead at each of the breaks, including 16 points at the last change, but three consecutive goals to open the quarter put the Tigers in front midway through the last. Todd Marshall and Tobin Cox settled the Magpies, before Luke Reynolds booted a late one, but ultimately the minor premiers fell less than a kick short of victory. Port Adelaide played possession football with 21 more disposals and 27 more marks, winning every statistical category except clearances (34-46) and inside 50s (47-49), which kept the Tigers in it. Trent McKenzie picked up a game-high 28 disposals, seven marks and 12 rebounds, while fellow Port Adelaide AFL-listed players, Jarrod Lienert (25 disposals, seven marks, four tackles and five rebounds), Joe Atley (22 disposals, three marks, nine tackles, four clearances, four inside 50s and two rebounds) and Willem Drew (22 disposals, four marks, 11 tackles, six clearances, seven inside 50s and one goal) were also among the best. Boyd Woodcock will look for his second successive senior League premiership after saluting with North Adelaide last year and being drafted to Port Adelaide. He picked up 17 disposals, eight marks and two rebounds in the win. For Glenelg, Luke Partington amassed 23 touches, four marks, eight tackles, six clearances, four inside 50s and a goal, while Matthew Snook (22 disposals, seven clearances, eight tackles and a goal) and Jesse White (21 disposals, four marks, 21 hitouts, eight clearances and six inside 50s) were also strong. Under-18 draft prospect Will Gould had 16 disposals, three marks, four tackles and six rebounds in the loss.

RESERVES:

Woodville-West Torrens 6.16 (52) defeated Central District 7.3 (45)

An inaccurate Woodville-West Torrens side has come from behind to down Central District and move into the preliminary final after a seven-point victory. The Eagles trailed at quarter time and managed to lead throughout for most of the game after that in what developed to a low scoring slog. Inaccuracy threatened to undo the Eagles, booting six goals from 22 scoring shots to the Bulldogs’ accuracy of seven from 10, but escaped what would have been a disappointing defeat. The Eagles lead by as much as 19 points with less than 10 minutes remaining, but a couple of late goals to Bulldogs’ pair Oliver Shaw and Murray Stephenson gave them a scare. Remarkably, the Eagles had double the inside 50s in the game (54-27), but the Bulldogs’ defence was superb with 47 rebounds to 20, while the Eagles amassed 75 more disposals and six more clearances in the win. Jake Comitogianni had 24 disposals, five marks, six tackles and four inside 50s in the win, the same amount of disposals as Ben Nason (five marks, five tackles and eight inside 50s) and South Australian Under-18 Most Valuable Player, Harry Schoenberg (three marks, six tackles, six clearances and five inside 50s). On the scoring front, Harrison Morgan was crucial with three goals from five scoring shots, while state representative Lachlan McNeil had 21 touches, three marks, three tackles, three inside 50s and a goal. Jackson Mead was the other South Australian U18 to stand up with 21 disposals, five marks, three clearances and five tackles, while Kysaiah Pickett booted two behinds from 16 touches, five tackles and three inside 50s. For the Bulldogs, Isaya McKenzie had a game-high 28 disposals, seven marks, six clearances, four inside 50s, seven rebounds and six tackles in a big game, while Stephenson had 22 touches and 12 rebounds to go with his goal. Jordan O’Brien was productive again with 21 disposals. two marks, seven clearances, seven tackles, three inside 50s and three rebounds, while bottom-age draft prospect Corey Durdin had 16 disposals, five tackles and five inside 50s.

Norwood 8.7 (55) defeated Sturt 7.12 (54)

Norwood has earned a spot in the SANFL Reserves Grand Final courtesy of a lucky rushed behind during overtime. The behind was all that separated the sides by the final siren, with the teams equal after four quarters thanks to a late Sam Barnett goal and a Sturt rushed behind to level proceedings at 48-all. Thomas Condon booted his third goal of the day in the first half of overtime to give the Double Blues the advantage, but after a rushed behind to the Redlegs and a late goal by Luke Surman, the Redlegs escaped one of the games of the year. Both teams were fairly even throughout with the Redlegs winning the hitouts (43-32), but the Double Blues taking care of the clearances (40-35), as Norwood had just one extra inside 50 and rebound for the game. In the end, the efficiency of the Redlegs for them home with four less scoring shots. Jed Spence amassed 30 touches in the win, as well as four marks, four clearances, five inside 50s and seven tackles, while Jack Heard was enormous in defence with 24 touches, 14 marks and seven rebounds. Isaac Saywell (24 disposals, five marks, three clearances and three inside 50s) and Samuel Buckham (22 disposals, five marks, eight clearances, four inside 50s and 13 tackles) were strong in the midfield, while Chris Olsson booted three goals from 20 touches and six marks. Father-son hopeful, Casey Voss was strong with a game-high 32 disposals, six marks, six clearances, six rebounds, four inside 50s and six tackles, while Joel Thiele had 28 disposals, five marks, 13 clearances, three inside 50s and three tackles as the dominant inside midfielder on the day. South Australian U18 winger, Josh Shute had 25 disposals, five marks, five clearances, two inside 50s and two rebounds, while Jed McEntee helped himself to 15 touches, three marks, eight tackles and three clearances. 2018 Under-18 key position forward/ruck Hugo Munn also had a promising game with 21 hitouts from 15 disposals, seven marks, four clearances and three inside 50s.

—

UNDER 18S:

South Adelaide 16.4 (100) defeated West Adelaide 11.9 (75)

South Adelaide has knocked out West Adelaide in straight sets to book a grand final spot against Woodville-West Torrens next weekend. The Panthers lead by eight points at quarter time but broke the game open in the second term with seven goals to two, in order to lead by 36 points at the main break. The Bloods hit back in the second term to cut the deficit by a couple of goals, but missed opportunities on goal with the sides having the same amount of scoring shots but the Panthers capitalising on them more. South Adelaide also had 55 more disposals, 22 more marks, nine more tackles and six more inside 50s, while the Bloods had a plus-14 in hitouts. Jason Horne was the top ball winner for the winners, amassing 24 disposals, five marks, seven clearances, nine inside 50s and three goals, while key forward Daniel Sladojevic also booted three majors from 16 touches, three marks and three inside 50s. Nicholas Kraemer had 21 disposals, four marks, six clearances, five inside 50s and six tackles, while Matthew Roberts (19 disposals, two marks, two tackles, four inside 50s and a goal) and Zac Dumesny (17 disposals, three marks, three rebounds and three tackles) were also solid. For the Bloods, Will Day was a class above dropping back to the Under 18s, having 23 disposals, three marks, nine rebounds, four clearances and four tackles off half-back, while Joel Groom had 20 disposals, five clearances, five tackles, four inside 50s and four rebounds. Noah Hannagan was the dominant goalkicker with five goals from eight scoring shots as well as his 16 touches and four marks – all contested, while potential top draft pick next year, Riley Thilthorpe dominated in the ruck with 36 hitouts from 14 dispoals, two marks, five clearances, five inside 50s and two goals in a losing side.