BIG man Jonathan Giles delivered a good all-round performance in tough and wet conditions in the Grand Final replay at the Adelaide Oval against Glenelg, with the effort earning him the praises of the Power’s development coaches and the Cibo Glenelg SANFL Player of the Week Award for Round 5.

Giles showed great commitment around the ground, at ruck contests and floating forward where he kicked two goals to help the Bulldogs to a hard fought win over the Bays.

The award is judged by Power development coaches, Darren Trevena and Stuart Cochrane, and is announced exclusively at PortAdelaideFC.com.au each week.

Fourteen other Power players were in action over the weekend, with highlights including Jason Davenport leading the Bloods to their first victory of the season and Glenn Dawson booting three goals in the Eagles reserves. The full wrap is below.

Cibo Glenelg SANFL Player of the Week
Jonathan Giles (for Central v Glenelg @ Adelaide Oval) – Gilesy played the best game he’s had all year, rotating through the ruck and moving forward at times. He had a real impact at stoppages and around the ground, and also kicked 2.1 in tough conditions. Finished with 12 possessions and 5 marks and played to the standard that we really expect from him. It was pleasing to see him applying a lot of the things we’ve been discussing with him in the game. The next step is producing this standard week in, week out.

Matthew Westhoff (for Central v Glenelg @ Adelaide Oval) – Westy started a bit slowly with James Sellar playing on him, but worked his way into the game well kicking two goals and amassing 12 possessions. He led up well and had a solid game as the Bulldogs’ centre half forward.

Danny Meyer (for Glenelg v Central @ Adelaide Oval) – The ball was down his end a lot – playing on a back flank – and he was in the play quite a bit. Was in Glenelg’s better players and used the ball very well considering the conditions. He also played well defensively on some good opponents in Gowans, Dutschke and Williams. Danny’s been very consistent and he’s just waiting for his opportunity to play at the next level.

Paul Stewart (for Eagles v South @ Woodville) – Stewie played on a half back flank amassing 15 kicks, 7 handballs and 6 marks. He’s been a lot more defensive minded over the past few weeks, which has partly been due to the conditions, but he’s still used the ball well when he’s rebounded from the defensive 50. He keeps knocking on the door of AFL selection and if he can keep playing like he is that call will eventually be answered.

Matthew Broadbent (for Eagles v South @ Woodville) – Broady played on-ball and on the half back flank and probably wasn’t quite as prolific as what was expected of him considering the conditions probably suited him. Still had a very good game and is now a regular league player for the Eagles with good consistency. Finished with 14 kicks, 6 handballs and 3 marks.

Marlon Motlop (for North v Sturt @ Unley) – Played the sweeper across half back but conditions didn’t really suit him this week, only managing 12 possessions. He kept his opponent quiet and applied some good defensive pressure.

Daniel Stewart (for North v Sturt @ Unley) – Played in the ruck and full forward and while he didn’t get much of the ball, he gave a good contest in the forward line, bringing the ball to ground for the crumbers. His ruck work was again good and we see that improving each week.

Wade Thompson (for North v Sturt @ Unley) – Wade had 7 touches and 6 tackles against the Double Blues. His defensive pressure, chasing and tackling were all good. He’s got a really good burst of speed even in the wet, with his pace setting up a couple of goals.

Toby Thurstans (for Sturt v North @ Unley) – Toby had 20 possessions from full back and also did a good job rucking in the back line, often against two opponents. He was miserly in defence and tackled hard with good defensive pressure.

Jason Davenport (for West v Norwood @ Richmond) – Jase led Westies to their first win of the season with a great come from behind effort against Norwood. He was prominent all day with 24 possessions, 5 marks and 3.2, which probably should have been five straight, with two relatively easy misses. He ran hard both ways and looked especially dangerous in the forward half.

Glenn Dawson (for Eagles reserves v South reserves @ Woodville) – The Cougar played mostly forward and kicked 2.1 early while the ball was dry, but when the rain set in it affected the number of opportunities he had. Worked hard in the wet and finished the day with 12 kicks, 5 marks and 3.1.

Matthew Martin (for West reserves v Norwood reserves @ Richmond) – Probably Matty’s best game for the year, rebounding well from defence. He had 13 possessions and 5 marks, including some strong contested marks.

Jesse Laurie (for West reserves v Norwood reserves @ Richmond) – Jesse had 20 possessions, 6 marks and 2 tackles playing in the back line. A good solid game and he continues to push for a berth in the senior side.

Mitch Farmer (for Sturt reserves v North reserves @ Unley) – Mitch handled the ball very well in some shocking conditions. Had limited opportunities to impact the game from the half back line, but did his best to rebound from defence finishing with 13 possessions and 3 tackles.

Past Cibo Glenelg Power SANFL Player of Week Award winners
Round 4 – Marlon Motlop
Round 3 – Nick Lower
Round 2 – Matt Thomas
Round 1 – Nick Lower