SOUTH Australian Under 18 talent had another opportunity to impress for their local South Australian Football League (SANFL) clubs, with players spread across Under 18, Reserves and League teams, while some players will also head back to their respective Colleges for school football as it returns this weekend.

SANFL Wrap:

League

It was another busy week with a mix of Under 18 (U18) talent continuing at SANFL League level.

Norwood destroyed West Adelaide and the Redlegs ex-AFL talent dominated, with Mitch Grigg the standout. For the Bloods, Izak Rankine finished with a goal in a quiet match where he was starved of opportunity, and young ex-Goodwood Saint Keelan Laube made his league debut for the Bloods.

In the Sturt victory over the Eagles, both young forward guns Hugo Munn and Jack Lukosius were down on their recent form.

For Centrals, it was a great win over the Adelaide Crows, and young U18 leader Jez McLennan was rewarded with a League debut, playing his role at the level and finishing with 15 disposals. Fellow U18 leader Jackson Hately found plenty of the footy with 22 disposals, including four clearances. Adelaide Crow star Brodie Smith played his first game back from ACL and looked all class.

In the North vs South game, it was an impressive win for the Panthers winning by 41 points. North had three debutants in their team with U18 talent Boyd Woodcock and other youngsters Jake Wohling and Keanu Miller given a chance. Woodcock on debut worked hard around the ground  for his 16 disposals, six tackles and a goal. The standout was draft talent Connor Rozee finishing with four tackles and three goals, including a monster from inside the centre square, and a Powerade Breakthrough Player nomination.

Reserves:

Glenelg’s talented young team accounted for Port easily with Tobin Cox having a day out finishing with six goals. The Tigers gave opportunities to their young talent with Finn Betterman, Brad Potter and Declan Carmody, and 2019 talent Brady Searle and Will Gould all making a contribution. An undermanned Port’s best was big man Levi Proude.

Tom Lewis from Sturt will be pushing for a League debut after another best and 28 possessions, 12 tackles and 13 contested possessions helping his side to victory. Casey Voss again showed his consistency and Mihail Lochowiak was solid. Eagles potential draft talent Martin Frederick and Kai Pudney found plenty of footy despite the loss.

North accounted for South in an easy win, and South had some young players in the mix. U18 players Tate Coleman with 21 disposals rebounding off half-back, Hayden Sampson and Tom Sparrow were again dangerous and solid for the Panthers at this level, especially in the first half. For North forward/winger Oscar Chapman lead his team with 10 marks and a goal.

Under 18s:

Centrals were on the winners list after defeating Glenelg by 40 points. SA Under 16 captain Corey Durdin was a ball magnet with 26 disposals and 14 contested. Other young Under 16s talent Luke Edwards (son of Tyson) was best for the Tigers, and Sacred Heart College forward Darcy LeCornu continues his consistent season finishing with a goal and nine marks.

The Eagles have a stranglehold on the top of the ladder with another easy win this time over Sturt by 57 points.  Jarrod Miller again was best for Eagles with four goals as the leading possession winner, while potential father-son Jackson Mead led all players with 12 tackles. Sturt Dougal Grieve has found some form in recent weeks along with consistent performer Jed McEntee both strong at the contest all game.

Norwood look a different side with their top end talent back and they gave West Adelaide a 84 point loss. Luke Valente’s first game back was typical of his form with 30 possession, seven clearances and best on ground honours. Jacob Kennerley again found plenty of outside footy and Dylan Stephens finished with three goals in a classy performance. West Adelaide’s Ethan Moore backed up another solid game with 13 contested possessions and seven clearances in their loss, and underage Jye Sinderberry is building well after a solid U16 championships.

Despite a tough loss to the Roosters, South forward Jake Tarca was rewarded with an MVP nomination after his six-goal haul in a losing side. Roosters midfielder Bailey Coleman-Oakes continued to find the footy and Harrison Magor looked impressive in another quality game finishing with 17 contested possessions.

National Under 15 Championships – Boys and Girls

This week the National Championships are underway for the Under 15 talent from across the country in boys and girls football. SA look favourite in both competitions, currently undefeated in their matches to date. We will provide a full wrap on players to watch after conclusion of the tournament.

College Footy:

College Footy is back this weekend with some huge clashes in the back end of the season as side continue to build towards the title race. Sacred Heart (SHC) have a massive game against Prince Alfred (PAC) at SHC, which is a must win for the Hearts team. SHC have been playing some good footy before the break and plenty of their talent doing well at SANFL level. PAC’s top end talent is high class so it will be a great game to watch.

Rostrevor take on St Peters in another important game, and Rostrevor will start favourite, while newly promoted Scotch College take on Westminster.