ROUND 11 of the SANFL season saw games spread across three days, from Saturday afternoon to the Queen’s Birthday clash at Glenelg

One game was played on Saturday afternoon, with reigning premiers Central District too strong for the Magpies at home.

On the first Sunday game the Double Blues went down by a goal to the Eagles, while the concurrent game at Prospect Oval saw North Adelaide defeated by West Adelaide in a game that featured Power skipper Dom Cassisi returning to action in the SANFL.

In the final game of the round on Queen’s Birthday Monday, Glenelg were defeated by Norwood by 14 points.

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
Mitch Banner (for Magpies vs Bulldogs)
Mitch has continued to work on his defensive game, and it is his concerted effort to work on that side of his game that has seen him acknowledged as this week’s best performed Power player in the SANFL. His defensive efforts and ability to be involved when the opposition have the ball was strong, and he picked up 33 touches, kicked 2 goals and had a number of clearances - his offensive game has never been in question, but it’s great to see him continuing to develop his game.

Matt Westhoff (for Bulldogs reserves vs Magpies)
This was Matt’s first game back after having the last few weeks off as a result of a minor injury, and he played about three-quarters of the game. He booted 2 goals and it’s important for him to get that game time back under his belt as he keeps working on increasing his intensity around the contest. For a first-up effort to have six shots on goal is a strong start, and he looked dangerous at times.

Brett Ebert (for Magpies vs Bulldogs)
Ebo picked up 21 possessions and kicked 3 goals and was really strong up forward, and had a really strong impact around stoppages - it was a strong hit-out from him in that regard, being able to be a big body around the contest as well as provide a target deep in the forward line.

Nick Salter (for Eagles vs Double Blues)
This was the first game for Salts after having had an injury throughout the first half of the year. He played around 75% game time, picking up 8 possessions and kicking a goal. He got through unscathed, which is obviously the most pleasing thing for him.

Mitch Curnow (for Double Blues under18s vs Eagles)
Mitch only misses out by 8 days on qualifying directly for being able to play at this level, and it was really good for his confidence to compete against those his own age. He picked up 23 possessions, took 4 marks, and had 39 hit-outs, as well as booting a goal. Most importantly he was able to enjoy his footy, and he’ll probably continue at this level for the next few weeks, enabling him to have a fair amount of game time.

Marlon Motlop (for Bloods reserves vs Roosters)
Marlon had a solid game, playing more of a midfield role at the lower level and picking up over 20 possessions and showcasing his zip around the ground. He needs to continue to work on his hardness at the contest and work on his impact upon the game in the contests, but it was a good experience for him this week to play a more on-ball role.

Matthew Lobbe (for Bloods vs Roosters)
Lobbe performed solidly both in the ruck as well as acting as a target inside the forward 50. He finished the day with 14 possessions and 6 marks, including a couple of important contested grabs. When forward he was also able to impact upon the scoreboard, kicking a goal. His performance in the last couple of weeks has shown some real signs of quick improvement following a bad shoulder injury during the pre-season.

Jason Davenport (for Bloods vs Roosters)
Dav was probably one of the pick of the players performing in the SANFL this weekend. He picked up over 20 touches and kicked a couple of goals, as well as missing a few. He put some good defensive pressure upon the opposition and looked lively, which was really pleasing.

Dom Cassisi (for Bloods vs Roosters)
Dom made his long-awaited return to football and - despite being a bit scratchy early - was really good around the clearances, and his GPS numbers and his clearance numbers suggest that he is ready to resume at AFL level straight away, which is great to see.

Daniel Stewart (for Roosters vs Bloods)
Daniel has been the SANFL Player of the Week for the past couple of weeks, and probably wasn’t quite as outstanding as he has been in the past couple of weeks, but still put in a solid performance. He took around a handful of contested marks, kicked a couple of goals, and picked up a number of possessions and did some good ruck work.

Andrew Moore (for Roosters vs Bloods)
We sent Andrew back to the SANFL while the Power had the bye in order to help him work on his fitness, and it was really pleasing that he was able to run the game out and get some run into his legs. He played a variety of roles and picked up 17 possessions, had a number of tackles, and looked like he was moving really well.

Aaron Young (for Roosters vs Bloods)
Youngie played mainly on the wing and across half-forward, picking up 15 possessions and he continues to show strong signs at this level, indicating that he’s going to be a player at league level. He took a number of steps forward, but needs to continue to work on his defensive intensity and pressure, but overall it was a fairly solid performance.

David Rodan (for Redlegs reserves vs Tigers)
It was fantastic to see D-Rod back in action. He had a good run around and got involved, really enjoying his time. He played around 50-60% of game time, and played reasonably well on-ball and changing forward in a strong first-up effort after overcoming injury.

Danny Meyer (for Tigers vs Redlegs)
Danny played predominantly across half-back but also changed on-ball a little bit. It wasn’t a bad game in a beaten side, but was probably a bit quieter than he’d like to be - his efficiency and use of the ball when he gets it is key, and he very rarely turns it over.

Cameron Hitchcock (for Tigers vs Redlegs)
Cam started very strongly indeed, looking like he was going to have another outstanding game as he really took the game on. He dropped out a little bit but continued to work hard, even as he wasn’t able to influence the play as he was unable to get on the ball and have a great deal of forward entries.

Steve Salopek (for Tigers vs Redlegs)
Sal picked up 24 possessions for the game and had a reasonably solid effort, working hard and bodylining the ball. He needs to keep working on his change of pace and breaking the lines to play the sort of football that we’ve seen in the past.

Previous SANFL Reports
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