Development coach Stuart Cochrane told portadelaidefc.com.au Salter played “smart” football and could have kicked more than his eventual tally had he not shared the footy around.
“Salts was in everything all day despite lacking a bit of pace, but he was really smart and timed his leads really well,” explained Cochrane.
“That opportunism and smart footy was really good – he kicked six and could probably have kicked eight!
“Really influential – it’s great to see and it’s great for him.”
Joining Salter at the Eagles was Paul Stewart who was omitted from the Power line-up last week.
He had a reasonable game playing at half-forward according to Cochrane, but found himself battling big key forwards Salter and Andrew Ainger to have leads rewarded throughout the day.
“Paul had an OK first game back but seemed to get bypassed for the key forwards on a few occasions,” said Cochrane.
“He still kicked a couple of nice goals and got a few more possessions with a good effort throughout the day.
“But he lacked a little bit of the impact we expect from him at times.”
While the Eagles dominated the game, it was Glenelg that found itself on the receiving end of 25-goal onslaught.
Cameron Hitchcock played on a wing for the Bays and was certainly their best player.
“Hitchy was able to consistently find space and looked like the most damaging and attacking player for the Bays,” said Cochrane.
“He probably has a bit of work to do with his turnover pressure, but the stats he got in a team that got convincingly beaten really highlight his impact on the day.”
Young full back Tom Clurey struggled under the pressure of the Eagles’ frequent entries inside 50.
In probably his least impacting game since being drafted to Port Adelaide at the end of 2012, Clurey struggled against the Eagles' big forwards, although he ensured a presence at most contests and continued his good work off the ball and around packs.
Mason Shaw performed well again for South Adelaide’s reserves as he continues to push for League selection at the Panthers.
“Mason was really pleasing and continued to take the front spot in marking contests,” said Cochrane.
“He’s been working hard on that recently and had a lot of good, strong lead-ups.
“He had a pretty solid game but still has a bit of work to do defensively.”
Tyson Edwards saw Port Adelaide’s SANFL side net its second win of the year at Alberton Oval against North.
Edwards was pleased with a number of solid midfield performances by the club’s Magpies-aligned players.
Ben Newton continued his good run of form after being relegated to the Reserves several weeks ago and is clearly benefiting from improved fitness this year.
“Newts played a mid-forward role and was quite good, the clearances he got were damaging - he really made the most of them,” Edwards told portadelaidefc.com.au
“He’s doing some really good work around the stoppages now and is getting on the move and into position to get the ball.
“His fitness is clearly leagues above where he was this time last year. It’s really pleasing and helping him get a bit more of the ball.”
Newton was the standout of the Power’s players in the game, but fellow Magpie mids Brendon Ah Chee and Aaron Young also had solid performances playing through the middle and pushing forward.
“Ah Chee had a really good first quarter, hunting the ball and getting some outside ball as well – he was impressive,” said Edwards.
“He played mainly forward in the second and had some opportunities to get some marks but didn’t attack those opportunities well enough, so that’s an area for him to work on.
“He definitely has more to offer though.
“Youngy worked his way into the game and by three quarter time was looking like he was set for a good finish.
“He was close to having a pretty good game but it was disappointing that he had little to no influence in the last quarter.”
Several players put in quieter performances compared to their usual standards at this level.
After performing his defensive tagging role well over several weeks, rookie-listed Danny Butcher couldn’t restrict several Roosters opponents throughout the day.
And the Power’s North-aligned players struggled to get involved in the game, with the Round 7 Player of the Week Daniel Stewart suffering from the Roosters’ impacted ball movement and Nathan Blee having a quiet game on the wing with only five touches to half time.
Justin Hoskin played on the wing for the Magpies after several weeks struggling with his defensive and offensive work in the backlines, with Healy saying he appeared to perform the role well.
And Jack Hombsch is growing increasingly close to playing his first game with the Power after a solid performance with Sturt against West Adelaide.
Playing on former Power rookie Daniel Webb, Hombsch performed strongly to deny a number of the Bloods’ forwards clean hands.
“Hombschy looks really good,” development manager Daniel Healy told portadelaidefc.com.au
“He played on Daniel Webb who is now West’s key ruck/forward.
“Jack had only two marks taken on him for the day, one was when he playing in front and got a bit caught out.
“Stronger spoils, more physicality - he was pretty impressive.
“It was another step up and I think he’s close to being ready for selection (in the Power).”
SANFL Player stats breakdown - Round 8
| Player | Disp. | Marks | Tack. | Clearances | H/O | I50s | R50s | Score |
| A Young | 17 | 7 | 5 | 1 | - | 3 | 1 | - |
| B Newton | 17 | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | 5 | 1 | - |
| B Ah Chee | 16 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | 3 | 1 | 1.0 |
| J Hoskin# | 15 | 5 | 3 | 3 | - | 4 | 1 | 1.1 |
| D Butcher# | 4 | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | 1 | - |
| D Stewart | 10 | 6 | 1 | - | 5 | 6 | - | - |
| N Blee | 12 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 2 | - | - |
| P Stewart | 17 | 6 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | 2.0 |
| N. Salter | 15 | 6 | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | 6.3 |
| C. Hitchcock | 22 | 8 | - | 2 | - | 10 | - | 1.3 |
| T. Clurey | 8 | 4 | - | 1 | - | - | 4 | - |
| J. Hombsch | 19 | 8 | - | - | - | - | 2 | - |
| M. Shaw* | 13 | 8 | - | - | - | 2 | - | 2.2 |
* denotes Reserves player
# denotes rookie-listed player
