Round 14 of the SANFL season saw two matches on a Saturday afternoon followed by two Sunday afternoon fixtures.

The Magpies had a strong win against Sturt, winning by over 10 goals at Commander Centre Oval, while at the same time Norwood got the chocolates against North Adelaide at Coopers Stadium. The Sunday matches saw the Tigers and Eagles battle go right to the wire, with Glenelg scraping home by two points, despite having three less scoring shots. Central District continued their strong form by beating South Adelaide.

West Adelaide had the bye.

All games were watched closely by development manager Daniel Healy and development coach Matthew Nicks. Their full report is below.

SANFL Player of the Week
Jacob Surjan (for Magpies vs Double Blues)
Surj was arguably best afield with 27 possessions in a scrappy contest on a wet and slippery day, and it really suited his game. He was able to show some of his desperation and his tackling was exemplary, which was really pleasing for him.

John Butcher (for Magpies reserves vs Double Blues)
This was Butch’s first game back in a while after overcoming a hamstring injury. He played about 75 to 80% game time and competed really well in really slippery conditions. He dropped a couple of marks that we’d like to see him clunk, but he got to plenty of marking contests and was really aggressive and showed a lot of intensity - he certainly wasn’t worried about his hamstring at all and ended up kicking a goal and had 10 possessions. We were pleased he got through.

Matt Westhoff (for Bulldogs reserves vs Panthers)
Matt played both centre half back and centre half forward as well as spending a bit of time in the ruck. It was an average day for Matt, only picking up 11 possessions in a losing side, and he needs to challenge himself to improve his output - there are spots available for him in the league side, he just needs to work harder and get back up there.

Jarrad Redden (for Eagles vs Tigers)
Reddo got promoted to the league side this week and played as a second ruck, having about 40 to 50% game time. He had a good impact in the ruck, having 22 or so hit-outs, and was arguably the best ruckman for the day. He only picked up 7 possessions but got to a lot of marking contests around the ground and was really keen to hunt the ball and get involved, so he’s making really positive steps forward.

Steve Salopek (for Tigers vs Eagles)
Sal played half-forward with a bit of time on ball, as well as spending a bit of time on the pine. He only had 14 possessions with a limited impact upon the game - he used the ball reasonably well when he got it, but he didn’t have a big day out.

Daniel Bass (for Panthers vs Bulldogs)
Bass played as a second ruckman, and it was quite a good contest between the two teams. Bass acquitted himself well in the ruck, but probably didn’t have as much of the ball as we’d like to see, and let himself down with a few dropped marks. His first and second efforts were very solid once again.

Daniel Motlop (for Roosters vs Redlegs)
Mots ended up kicking four goals for the day playing as a deep forward on an oval that was as far removed from the pristine conditions expected from modern football - the mud was thick and the ground very heavy at Coopers Stadium. It was a good return, and Mots needs to keep working on his workrate.

Aaron Young (for Roosters vs Redlegs)
Youngie played across half-forward against a really solid defensive group in tough conditions, and was often outnumbered two to one. He battled hard and continued to put his head over the ball, and he likes it in hard and close so it was a reasonable performance - he just needs to get more of the football.

Mitch Curnow (for Double Blues u18s vs Magpies)
It was a tough game for big guys, with it being a real bog in the middle of the ground. But once again Curnow showed his ability to battle strongly at the stoppages, winning a lot of taps at this level against players his own age. The next trick for Mitch is to really add to his influence around the ground.

Previous SANFL Reports
SANFL Wrap - Round 14
SANFL Wrap - Round 13
SANFL Wrap - Round 12
SANFL Wrap - Round 11
SANFL Wrap - Round 10
SANFL Wrap - Round 9
SANFL Wrap - Round 8
SANFL Wrap - Round 7
SANFL Wrap - Round 6
SANFL Wrap - Round 5
SANFL Wrap - Round 4
SANFL Wrap - Round 3
SANFL Wrap - Round
SANFL Wrap - Round 1