THIS week in South Australian football has been dominated by the impressive performance of the State’s Under 18 stars, who put Vic Country to the sword with a 27-point win in the National Championships. Meanwhile, there were plenty of prospects who put their hand up for a call-up with solid games in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) Under 18s and Reserves.

Under 18 National Championships

On the back of six changes from game one against Western Australia, the South Australian (SA) side grounded out an impressive win against a tough Vic Country outfit. The class of both sides was highlighted in the best players, and again key SA forward Jack Lukosius was a standout along with fellow SA highlight reel Izak Rankine. The players brought into the side for this game from SA made an impact and no doubt will give the selectors a headache in choosing the final squad to travel to Melbourne for the last two games. Kai Pudney and Finn Betterman found plenty of the footy and should make the final squad. An injury to Ruckman James Braidwood will mean a mixture of players will have to cover his role in the coming games. The next matches against the Allies and Vic Metro will be must watch games for recruiters and SA fans alike.

Final Scores:

SOUTH AUSTRALIA             2.1      5.2      9.4      11.7 (73)
VIC COUNTRY                        1.3      4.5      4.9      6.10 (46) 

GOALS:
South Australia: Lukosius, Rankine, Munn 3, Kennerley, Colwell
Vic Country: Serong, Garoni 2, Barzen, Flanders 

BEST:
South Australia: Gould, McLennan, Valente, Lukosius, Jarvis, Kennerley
Vic Country: Duursma, Walsh, Stephens, Reid, Serong, Berry

…

SANFL Wrap      

With the SA U18s defeating Vic Country by 27 points at Adelaide Oval, there were a number of other key performances in the SANFL by the remaining players in the SA U18s squad.

Reserves:

North Adelaide defeated Centrals in a close game by seven points.  For the Roosters, medium forward/winger Oscar Chapman was among the best with two goals and five tackles (three of which had his opponent caught holding the ball) really bringing pressure all over the field. Midfielder Boyd Woodcock was also in the bests with his 20 disposals, nine clearances, eight tackles and one goal led by his big work rate around the ground.  For Centrals, midfielder Aaron Nietschke was best with his 26 disposals five clearances and a goal, showing real poise particularly in the second half. Ryan Falkenberg also had 10 disposals, with most effect in the second half.

In Glenelg’s six-point loss to Norwood, Tobin Cox was best with 20 disposals (15 contested) and a goal, and under-ager Brady Searle impacted with 17 disposals and nine tackles . Declan Carmody also had 22 disposals and kicked two goals, while backman Seb Schrieber had 14 disposals. Norwood Ruckman James Siviour, back from the league team last week had 19 hitouts and seven disposals. In the Eagles loss to Westies, underager Jackson Mead had 13 disposals including five clearances.  

U18s:

In the South v Sturt slog-fest, Souths Tyler Davies had a remarkable 17 tackles (just shading teammates Luke Bogle’s 15) to help them to their six-point win – both boys also had seven clearances each. In the Eagles 82 point win over West, Tyler Francis kicked six goals and included three contested marks, and Jordan Bailey (brother of Brisbane Lion Zac) had 30 disposals, seven clearances and six tackles.

In Norwood’s 20-point win over Glenelg, Jed Spence was clearly best with his 29 disposals (26 kicks), ten clearances, one goal and 13 tackles. SA Squad member Jacob Collins was also in the best with his 23 disposals, eight inside 50s and one goal. North defeated Centrals by 32 points led by speedster Mason Neagle’s 26 disposals, nine marks, six tackles and two goals.  

College Footy

This week hosted Round One after relegation and promotion and the start of the ‘new’ season. Prince Alfred (PAC) easily accounted for newly promoted Westminster, winning by 79 points even with a number of their top end players away on SA duty. Mitch Larsson was best for the Reds. Sacred Heart College (SHC) are now showing they are going to be tough in the second half of the year with a solid win over St Peters by 35 points, who they narrowly lost to in an earlier round. SHC Captain Liam Wisdom was best for winners. Rostrevor accounted for recently promoted Scotch College by 76 points and continue to look hard to beat.