ROUND 10 of the SANFL season saw three very tight games and one last quarter blow-out in a great round of local football.

Two games were played on Saturday afternoon, with the 2010 Grand Final rematch between Norwood and Central District another absolute thriller, with the Redlegs getting up by a solitary point in a low-scoring game at Coopers Stadium.

The Eagles lost at home to North Adelaide by 14 points, while the Saturday night game between South Adelaide and Glenelg ended in a thrilling draw. West Adelaide had the bye, but took on Williamstown in the Foxtel Cup, with Willy really, really impressive - there was hardly an easy touch for the Wests players, with high pressure and an in-close type game, which doesn’t suit our players who are at West Adelaide.

In the final game of the round, the Magpies and the Double Blues took each other on as the curtain-raiser for the Power-Blues clash. Sturt were particularly inaccurate in the blustery conditions, with the Magpies finishing strongly to run out healthy winners.

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
Daniel Stewart (for Roosters vs Eagles)
Snowy was nearly as good as last week, albeit playing more of a forward role this week as opposed to predominantly in the ruck. He didn’t go as well in the ruck up against a pretty strong opponent, but his work around the ground was dangerous - he pushed forward when he was in the ruck and his movements are really impressive at the moment, as is his intensity. He had 17 possessions and took 5 marks, and kicked 5 goals 1, leading really hard and was on a bloke who is a pretty honest defender who doesn’t normally get bags kicked on him.

Mitch Curnow (for Double Blues reserves vs Magpies)
Mitch had a fairly typical game for him for the season, albeit with a bit more game time this week. He had a handful of possessions and showed promise in the centre square duels. He had some reasonable efforts at contests, and he knows that he has to improve in this area in order to push his football further ahead for the remainder of the year.

Aaron Young (for Roosters vs Eagles)
Youngie played mostly on the half-forward flank with some time spent on the wing, and showed glimpses of really encouraging form - he had 11 possessions and kicked a goal, and got some important touches late to help his side win the game. He’s playing a bit like he did earlier on in the season, with some really encouraging signs interspersed with times where he’s not involved in the play - it’s a building block for him and hopefully he’ll get better and better.

Marlon Motlop (for Bloods vs Williamston)
Marlon started as a small forward and moved up onto the wing -he really needs to work on going at the contest rather than waiting to be a receiver. There were a couple of balls he got out in space where he could utilise his speed, but he needs to continue to work hard both defensively as well as offensively.

Jason Davenport (for Bloods vs Williamston)
Dav was as good as he’s been this year, laying some really good tackles forward of centre - when he got the ball he worked hard too, and put his head in the hole and showed impressive signs in a pleasing performance.

Matthew Lobbe (for Bloods vs Williamston)
Matthew Lobbe really struggled against the big body of Ben Hudson, whose timing and strength was superior, and Lobbe was unable to have an impact around the ground as well, struggling to get to marking contests which was disappointing.

Daniel Webb (for Bloods vs Williamstown)
Daniel Webb was pretty similar to Lobbe when he was up forward - he ran under the ball on too many occasions, missing opportunities to impact upon the contest. He ended up being Wests’ preferred option in ruck, really giving Wests something there, and competing really well against the strength and experience of Hudson.

Danny Meyer (for Tigers reserves vs Panthers)
Danny had one of his better games for the season - he just missed out on playing for the league side this week and he didn’t let it affect his preparation, getting himself mentally right for the match and playing a really strong game on-ball changing forward. His tackling was a stand-out and he’s clearly putting his name up for first-grade selection.

Daniel Bass (for Panthers reserves vs Tigers)
This was a fantastic game by Bassy - easily his best game for the season. He’s been working on his contested marking and he took several for the game, as well as kicking 2 goals 2 and probably should’ve booted 4 for the match. We look at it as a real positive for him - he tested the opposition enormously. His ruckwork was exceptional, with over 30 hit-outs, albeit against a younger opponent.

PTV: Watch Daniel Bass' Highlights

Chad Cornes (for Tigers vs Panthers)
The whole Glenelg side struggled in the first half and Cornes played predominantly up forward, which made it hard for him. He did come into the middle and did well, hitting in hard and using his strength and big body around the ball.

Cameron Hitchcock (for Tigers vs Panthers)
After a quiet first half - something that happened to all players in the Glenelg forward line this week - Hitchy was really zipping around the place in the second half and was instrumental in Glenelg getting back into the game. He ended up kicking 2 goals and having another very solid game at this level.

Steve Salopek (for Tigers vs Panthers)
Sal picked up over 20 possessions and worked really hard to get himself involved in the game. He was one of Glenelg’s key ball users, enabling his side to get into the position where they were able ot draw the scores in the end and rescue some points rather than be on the losing side.

Tom Jonas (for Redlegs vs Bulldogs)
The only Power player to play in the game of the round, Tommy had a ripper, playing a defensive role on one of the best players in a strong Central District side. He really clamped down on his opponent and restricted his ball use, and whilst he didn’t pick up a heap of possessions himself it was his strength in the contest that was particularly impressive. After starting the season as a half-back flanker, he’s really come on in leaps and bounds since becoming a more lock-down midfielder in the past little while, which sets him up nicely for the remainder of the 2011 season.

Mitch Banner (for Magpies vs Double Blues)
Mitch had the sort of game that can't help but impress - he got a heap of the ball and used it effectively. He needs to keep working on his defensive actions - his chasing back, his body on body work, and his tackling - to become a more complete player, but he's clearly a strong and consistent performer at SANFL level.

Previous SANFL Reports
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