DESPITE a six-goal opening quarter, South Australia’s Under 18 side has gone down to its Under 20 counterpart by 14 points in Saturday’s annual SA Talent Clash. The more senior Croweaters skipped into the lead during term three and never looked back to salute 13.10 (88) to 11.8 (74) at Norwood Oval.

Under 18 captain Dyson Sharp topped the stat sheet for his side to be named its Most Valuable Player, while Will Patton again showed out in state colours to be the Under 20s’ best. Noah Roberts-Thomson and Cameron Nairn were among the other Under 18s to impress with three goals apiece.

SA U18 6.1 | 6.6 | 8.7 | 11.8 (74)
SA U20 2.2 | 5.3 | 10.6 | 13.10 (88)

GOALS:
SA U18: C. Nairn 3, N. Roberts-Thomson 3, S. Cumming, D. Sharp, M. LeRay, J. Kelly, C. Florance
SA U20: L. Sumner-Pickett 3, E. Bradley 2, T. Wheaton 2, C. Haysman, K. McEntee, J. Callinan, L. Slade, R. Borlace, T. Rosenzweig

RMC BEST:
SA U18: S. Cumming, J. Dahlitz, N. Roberts-Thompson, C. Nairn, J. Nye
SA U20: L. Pickett, P. Hargrave, T. Wheaton, L. Slade, A. Holt

MVPs:
SA U18: Dyson Sharp (Central District)
SA U20: Will Patton (West Adelaide)

SOUTH AUSTRALIA U18:

#3 Jesse Nye (South Adelaide)
Forward/Wing | 174cm | 23/03/2007

Stats: 12 disposals, 3 marks, 5 tackles

The South Adelaide left-footer worked hard across the four quarters, plying his trade in the forward half early before moving further afield on a wing. Nye pressured well defensively and showed he was willing to run both ways as he often slid into defensive 50 as a switch option for his side. Nye’s ball use was considered all game, spotting up teammates with well weighted kicks whenever the option was present.

#10 Noah Roberts-Thomson (Sturt)
Midfielder/Forward | 180cm | 29/03/2007

Stats: 13 disposals, 4 inside 50s, 3 goals

Splitting time between the midfield and forward 50, Roberts-Thomson equalled his side’s highest goal tally with three majors. In the midfield, Roberts-Thomson did his best work in tight as he battled hard to impact the opposition in possession, forcing errors with his pressure and following up strongly on the loose ball to show some clean work by hand under pressure. Roberts-Thompson was versatile up forward, scoring from over the mark and after getting onto the end of a handball chain to utilise multiple avenues to goal. 

#16 Sam Cumming (North Adelaide)
Midfielder | 184cm | 27/07/2007

Stats: 19 disposals, 5 marks, 1 goal

The AFL Academy member was another who spent time in the midfield and the forward 50 for the Under 18 side, consistently throwing himself into contests to scrap the ball out to teammates, or lock it in for a stoppage. As per usual, Cumming was equally as dangerous aerially as he was at ground level, showing some good work by foot after holding or a mark, or when in space. Cumming was most impressive with his work by hand, able to weight handballs well from congestion and quite often finding options forward of the contest. 

#17 Jett Dahlitz (Sturt)
Defender | 186cm | 11/08/2007

Stats: 16 disposals, 2 marks, 7 rebound 50s

Possessing a piercing right-foot kick, it was only natural teammates would look for Dahlitz when wanting to exit the defensive half, or when looking to handball to a defensive side option. Dahlitz’s use by foot was a highlight as expected, working to change angles when exiting the defensive half, and spotting up loose teammates when closer to goal. 

#24 Harley Barker (Sturt)
Wing | 187cm | 02/05/2007

Stats: 8 disposals, 2 marks, 3 rebound 50s

The athletic winger didn’t have a chunk of the footy, finding himself getting spoiled or pushed out of marking opportunities a few times, but impressed with his two-way running to aid his side in both halves. Barker had a few ‘almost’ marks where he showed off his impressive leap, perhaps unlucky not to earn free kicks for marking infringements. 

#25 Matthew LeRay (Central Districts)
Wing | 188cm | 22/02/2007

Stats: 12 disposals, 3 tackles, 1 goal

The Under 18s’ other AFL Academy winger, LeRay was mostly clean off the deck throughout the game and looked composed when moving through traffic, shrugging off a couple of tacklers while doing so. LeRay was particularly impressive with his defensive running, working ridiculously hard to impact contests even when he wasn’t the closest Under 18 player. 

#26 Mitchell Marsh (West Adelaide)
Tall Forward | 189cm | 15/02/2007

Stats: 7 disposals, 1 mark, 1 inside 50

Falling victim to the conditions, Marsh could’ve had himself a massive game if he had been a bit cleaner aerially, with the slippery footy proving difficult to hold at times. Still, the rising forward worked hard up the ground to help his side move from one end to the other, looking dangerous when afforded space by the opposition. 

#28 Cameron Nairn (Central District)
Forward | 186cm | 15/10/2007

Stats: 15 disposals, 7 marks, 5 inside 50s, 3 goals

Nairn utilised his enormous tank to consistently get into good spots in the forward half, often taking it on the chest uncontested when he was marking outside of the forward 50, providing an important piece of the chain as the Under 18s looked to link out of the defensive half. Nairn was dangerous off his left boot, slotting three majors with two in the first, and then the final goal of the game. 

#29 Dyson Sharp (Central District)
Midfielder | 188cm | 23/05/2007

Stats: 21 disposals, 6 tackles, 5 clearances, 1 goal

Taking on the role of captain, Sharp played a fairly standard game onlookers have come to expect from him, leading his side’s disposal count. He utilised his frame and courage around contest to win the footy, mostly looking to handball out to runners once he had won it, and applying strong pressure if he didn’t. In more open play Sharp looked to link up by hand and stay involved with his work rate, distributing some nice kicking when options presented.

#31 Noah Daw (Norwood)
Tall Defender | 192cm | 13/07/2007

Stats: 7 disposals, 2 marks, 1 rebound 50

Daw competed extremely well in the back half, quelling plenty of the Under 20s’ promising looks heading forward through sheer effort and intercepting prowess. Whether it was winning contests whilst outnumbered or getting a fist in, Daw found a way to impact every contest he was around. Daw’s ball use was good in-tight, looking to hand off to a loose teammate when under pressure, while also showing the expansiveness of his kicking when in space. 

SOUTH AUSTRALIA U20:

Glenelg’s Latrelle Sumner-Pickett was the match’s highlight, with the crafty small forward snagging three majors through smart forward craft and clean hands. While yet to feature at SANFL League level, the high-flyer may have just given his coaches something to think about with this performance. Tom Wheaton and Evan Bradley were the other Under 20s to get multiple goals, with Wheaton a real presence through the midfield all game. Likewise, Phoenix Hargrave did a bit of damage around the stoppages and worked hard to get loose and cover ground both ways. Luca Slade and Alex Holt were the other major movers for the victors with clean use by foot and hard running to accumulate through the middle third.