POWERFUL inside ball winners are often some of the best watches for neutral fans, and South Adelaide prospect Jaiden Magor is trending as one of them. The midfielder-forward has started his top-age campaign strongly in the Panthers’ Under 18s side, and produced season-high numbers in his latest outing on Saturday.

Despite his side going down for a fifth-straight loss, Magor was a standout with his clean hands and ability to impact the scoreboard in what was a scrappy kind of contest. We put the 18-year-old’s Round 7 performance under the Player Focus microscope.

South AdelaideMidfielder, Forward

Jaiden Magor

Height: 185cm

Weight: 79kg

DOB: 16-02-2004

Strengths:

Clean hands

Ground balls

Inside game

Power

Scoreboard impact

Improvements:

Kicking consistency [reference to execution]

Outside game

Draft range: Pick 25-40

SEASON SO FAR

Averages: 6 games | 21.3 disposals (14.5 kicks, 6.8 handballs), 5.5 marks, 3.7 tackles, 4.0 clearances, 3.7 inside 50s, 1.3 rebound 50s, 1.7 goals (10 total)

Playing all six of his games at Under 18s level in 2022, Magor has consistently hovered around the 20-disposal mark while kicking goals in every game. He started out well with 22 touches, seven clearances and two goals in South Adelaide’s only win for the season (Round 2), but produced his best numbers this past weekend. Aside from his latest outing, Magor has kept his disposal tallies between 18 and 23, kicking multiple goals thrice now while maintaining handy tackling and clearance outputs.

2022 SANFL Under 18s – Round 7
South Adelaide 8.9 (57) def. by Norwood 11.8 (74)

Stats: 28 disposals (22 kicks, 6 handballs), 3 marks, 5 tackles, 6 clearances, 2 inside 50s, 3 goals

FIRST QUARTER

It was a relatively steady opening term for Magor, who was sighted at the opening centre bounce and attended one of two more restarts across the 25 minutes. Many of his offerings for handball receives or short kicks on the spread went unrewarded, but the 18-year-old still managed to get some of his usual game going.

His first clean touch came off a free kick from Norwood’s errant kick-in, which Magor used to go back and across with a short pass. He also notched a centre clearance, albeit unconventionally, hacking the ball inside 50 off the ground as it spilt off the ruck tap.  

Magor’s best moment of the term was his major, a set shot conversion from just within the attacking arc which sailed through the big sticks. It was the first goal of the game, and an important one given Norwood hit back with two of its own later on.

SECOND QUARTER

With another handful of possessions in term two, Magor rounded out his opening half solidly. His clean hands were a real feature, with one particular half-volley at centre half-back showcasing the youngster’s one-touch ability off the deck or under pressure.

While not always pinpoint, Magor opted to go by foot with each disposal and generally put them in good areas. His burst of speed and powerful step allowed him to wheel around into enough space, or navigate past an opponent to get a more clear kick away on either side.

One thing which saw Magor come undone a touch in the first half was his tendency to go to ground. On some occasions it was simply a matter of putting his head over the ball, but other times he slipped while pushing off or dropped the bundle with contact, undoing some of the good work he put in at stoppage.

THIRD QUARTER

While he was again among the starting centre bounce mix, Magor made his mark up forward in the third term. He dominated at the contest early, winning his fair share of inside ball before shifting into attack and hitting the scoreboard.

Magor added two more goals to his tally; one through another free kick conversion, and the other via an uncontested mark which saw the ball fly just out of reach of Magor’s leaping opponent. With a pair of pure strikes, he had more goals than anyone afield.

Impressively, the powerful mid-forward also lead all comers by the final break with 21 disposals, many of which were accumulated at the coalface. A lot of his work was done under pressure, including another soccered centre clearance, where Magor could look to take possession and drive his legs to burst away from congestion.

FOURTH QUARTER

In a half where Magor attended four of a total 11 centre bounces, he capped his game strongly with showings of power and a touch of flair. He did a much better job of finding stoppage exits with a turn of speed, capitalising as the game opened up a touch.

His skills looked pretty sharp too, with a kick on the end of one stoppage break, and a no-look handball over his shoulder a couple of disposals which caught the eye. Working on the move, Magor also registered two more minor scores as he rested inside attacking 50, unable to add to his three-goal haul.

Overall, the clean inside ball winner proved exactly that in a match where polish lacked at times. If he can continue to use his size and power to stamp his authority at the contest, while sharpening his outside skills and continually hitting the scoreboard, Magor will do his draft chances no harm.