GLENELG bounced back onto the winners list with a seven-goal win over South Adelaide on Saturday, making for our SANFL Under 18s featured game in Round 13. The Bays piled on 11 goals to South’s two after half time, and closed to within a game of ladder leader North Adelaide. We noted some of the top performers from that game, before taking a look around the grounds and up the grades.

By: Tom Wyman

GLENELG:

#5 Ben Ridgway

Tough on-baller Ridgway produced a typically workmanlike performance. Spending most of the game in a familiar inside midfield role, he was Glenelg’s best contested ball winner and hardest tackler. He rotated through the forwardline where his bigger frame seemed to worry the South Adelaide defenders. Ridgway had an early shot on goal which missed, but managed to hit the scoreboard midway through the third term. He finished with 25 disposals, three marks, nine tackles and four clearances in the Tigers’ win.

#8 Charlie Hildyard

Hildyard lined up on the wing and provided plenty of meaningful run and carry all game long. His ability and willingness to run both ways was noticeable. He worked back deep in defence to support the back six but also ran hard offensively to finish with four inside 50s. A long running goal in the first term was a clear highlight of his game, as Hildyard collected 15 disposals, three marks and four tackles.

#13 Hayden Brokensha

Consistent on-baller Brokensha had a solid outing against South Adelaide. His clean disposal both in traffic and out in space was noteworthy. Having spent some time in some outside-leaning roles over the past couple of years, it was encouraging to see him perform well when given a more inside role, with his running capacity and skillset still able to shine through. Brokensha made good decisions with ball in hand and, aside from a skill error in the defensive 50, was one of Glenelg’s best. He finished with 20 possessions, four marks and three clearances.

#20 Ashton Moir

The highly-rated, bottom-aged utility lined up in attack and it wasn’t long before he got himself involved, taking an early pack mark after judging the ball better than his direct opponent. Moir’s ability to judge the flight of the ball separated his game from the other Glenelg forwards. Even if he didn’t mark it, Moir always seemed to get his hands on the ball. As South Adelaide gained the ascendancy in the first half, Moir was shifted on-ball and made an immediate impact at stoppages. He won three clearances in a row by reading the taps and getting his hands free – showing recruiters just how dynamic he can be when around the ball. He moved beautifully through traffic and placed his kicks into dangerous spots, even if they didn’t all hit a teammate’s chest. Back in attack, his natural leap saw Moir claim a grab inside 50, and he subsequently nailed the set shot on his left foot. His third major came via a regulation snap. Moir claimed fellow SA Under 18 state squad player Kyle Marshall holding the ball and booted his fourth major from the set shot. He finished with 13 disposals, two contested marks and five tackles.

#28 Ben Dewhirst

Medium defender, Dewhirst played a busy game down back. He found himself doing plenty of mop-up work early on, getting back deep in defence but also looking to start the Bays’ rebounds. Dewhirst’s disposal by foot was inconsistent, however it got better as the game wore on. Strong defensively for a lightly built player, Dewhirst finished with 19 possessions, six marks and seven rebound 50s.

Others:

Ollie McInnes was the leading possession winner on the ground, running hard both ways and accumulating 29 disposals to go with his five marks, six tackles and five clearances through the midfield. Fellow on-baller Will Trevena continued his consistent season with another strong showing against the Panthers. He managed 24 disposals, five marks, five clearances and five rebound 50s. Having spent time down back this season for Sacred Heart College, Ryan Wurfel performed well as a small forward, gathering 21 touches, five marks, four tackles, five inside 50s and a goal, using his speed and skill to damaging effect. Bodie Ryan was strong in defence, working well in-tandem with schoolmate Ben Dewhirst to clean up down back.

SOUTH ADELAIDE:

#10 Jack Delean

SANFL fans have become used to seeing livewire bottom-ager Delean light up games in the forwardline. However, with a couple of midfielders missing from the Panthers line-up, Delean spent the whole game as a starting centre bounce on-baller. He won the first clearance of the game via handball and reminded onlookers of his freakish talent when he swiftly intercepted a Glenelg defender’s handpass and strolled in to an open goal. His speed and movement through the stoppages provided a real point of difference. He looked to connect well with Will Verrall in the ruck and will have impressed scouts in his new role. Delean finished with 18 possessions, two goals, four tackles, five clearances and six inside 50s.

#25 Kyle Marshall

On a day where only a handful of Panthers stood out, the run and carry from athletic defender, Marshall was a bright spot. Marshall consistently looked to take the game on and back his speed in, providing plenty of dash and drive from defence. Importantly, his kicking on the run was also sound, with Marshall hitting good areas by foot. He managed 14 possessions and four marks for the game.

#33 Will Verrall

Verrall was the most dominant bigman on the ground, using his height, reach and ruck craft to dominate his opponents. Verrall racked up a game-high 36 hitouts, however the depth and class of the Bays midfield ensured the Tigers won the clearance battle 44-33. Verrall’s ability to read the ball-ups around the ground is something we’ve become used to seeing over the past few years, and his contested marking around the ground was also a highlight. He finished the game with 15 touches, four marks, three tackles, five clearances and four inside 50s.

Others:

In a game where no Panther managed over 20 possessions, Blake Rodrigues put in a solid performance to finish with 16 touches, eight tackles and four inside 50s. Austin Hogg laid eight tackles too, with the pair pilling on the pressure through the midfield. Hogg also managed 15 disposals, six clearances and four inside 50s for his troubles. Key forward Jye Bottroff booted three goals from 14 disposals and also managed eight hit-outs.

AROUND THE GROUNDS:

By: Micah Hann

Woodville-West Torrens 8.10 (58) def. by Sturt 14.8 (92) 

Without stars Adam D’Aloia and Mattaes Phillipou, Woodville-West Torrens succumbed to Sturt at home by 34 points. South Australian State Under 18 representatives Nathan Barkla (22 disposals) and Blake Hansen (20 disposals, seven marks, six inside 50s and a goal) performed well for the Eagles, while Bailey Arthur won a team-high 29 disposals and six clearances.  

Nick Sadler was phenomenal in a clear best-on-ground display. The South Australian vice-captain kicked two goals to go with his game-high 35 disposals and six clearances. He was well supported by fellow midfielders Cormac Dwyer (24 disposals and a goal), Luca Slade (20 disposals and a goal) and Kobe McEntee (19 disposals and five clearances).

Chad Reschke was again impressive up forward, kicking five goals and taking his season tally to a league-leading 46 majors. Blake Fidge was another of Sturt’s best, finishing with 17 disposals and two goals.  

North Adelaide 8.8 (56) def. by Norwood 13.14 (92) 

League leader North Adelaide dropped just its second game of the season, going down by six straight goals to Norwood. North kicked the first three goals of the game, but trailed at quarter time after Norwood clawed its way back into the contest. A four-goal to one second term saw the Roosters skip away to 19-point lead at the main break.  

A nine-goal to one second half, including four goals in four minutes to start the final quarter, saw the visitors run away with the game. Norwood were well-led by their South Australian State Under 18 representatives Tyson Walls (24 disposals and two goals), Max Michalanney (21 disposals and nine marks) and Phoenix Foster (15 disposals, 14 hitouts, four contested marks and three goals).

Logan Evans (28 disposals, seven marks and seven rebound 50s) was great across half-back, while Josh Bradford (25 disposals and eight clearances) and Noah Hyde (22 disposals, seven inside 50s and a goal) won plenty of the football against their more-fancied midfield opponents.  

Billy Dowling was prolific through the midfield collecting a game-high 30 possessions to go with six marks, five clearances and seven tackles for the Roosters. North Adelaide captain James White (24 disposals) and SA Talent Hub member Kane McAuliffe battled hard in the middle of the ground, while Isaac Keeler put in another strong performance, finishing with 22 disposals, nine hitouts and three goals.      

Central District 4.4 (28) def. by West Adelaide 25.7 (157) 

West Adelaide was clinical in a dominant display against Central District. After holding Centrals scoreless in the first half and kicking 16 goals of their own, the visitors ran out winners by a whopping 129 points.  

Harry Lemmey built some form, kicking six goals straight and finishing with 18 disposals and 10 marks. Lukas Zvaigzne added five goals of his own, while Adam Bunworth, Judd Hansen, Jamie Kovacic and Tom Scully all finished with three apiece.  

Trent Tattoli was again fantastic in a losing effort, finishing with 35 possessions, six clearances and a goal. He had Will Schmidt for good company, who collected 27 disposals and 10 marks (three contested), while Ethan Scholz (19 disposals and seven rebound 50s) and Beau Thomas (14 disposals, nine marks, eight hitouts and a goal) were in the best for the home side.  

UP THE GRADES:

League 

West Adelaide handed South Australian State Under 18 ruckman Harry Barnett his League debut against Central District. Barnett led the ruck division for his side, winning 25 hitouts to go with his seven disposals.  

Reserves 

Aforementioned Eagles pair D’Aloia and Phillipou both found the ball 15 times each in a narrow two-goal loss to Sturt in the SANFL reserves. D’Aloia in particular had no problem mixing it up with the more mature bodies, laying 10 tackles and winning six clearances.  

Elsewhere, Finn Reed was one of his side’s best in a one-point loss to West Adelaide. Reed had 17 disposals and kicked a goal in his seventh reserves game for the season.  

Glenelg rolled out their younger brigade in the Reserves for the second week in a row. Jakob Ryan (18 disposals and eight marks), Jake Walker (14 disposals) and Archie Lovelock (11 disposals, four clearances and a goal) held on against a fast finishing South Adelaide to escape with a two-point victory. Charlie Duncan was one of his side’s best with 19 disposals in the defeat.