Round 13 of the SANFL season saw three matches on a Saturday afternoon following a Friday night fixture at Coopers Stadium.
The first game of the round was on Friday evening, with Norwood running out strong winners against Sturt. Three games were played on Saturday afternoon, with North Adelaide surprising Glenelg by just on 5 goals, while the Panthers were similarly upset winners against the Eagles. The final game of the round saw the Magpies score a resounding victory against the Bloods
Reigning premier Central District had the bye in Round 13.
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 Bass (for Panthers vs Eagles)
Bass played in the ruck against Parry, who is one of the highest rated ruckmen in the SANFL. It was a fantastic effort by Bass - he really broke even and performed well in the ruck, with some fantastic centre bounce work as well as around the ground marking. For Bass this was another huge step forward and he’s just coming along in leaps and bounds as he’s really starting to learn the game.
Nick Salter (for Eagles vs Panthers)
This was Salts first game back up in the league, and he probably struggled with the pace of the game initially. But as the game slowed down a bit he was more than up for the challenge, and he’ll be better for getting this game under his belt.
Mitch Curnow (for Double Blues U/18s vs Redlegs)
Mitch wasn’t as good at this level as he’s been in the last couple of weeks, but he still had a heap of hit-outs and a couple of contested grabs. He’s improving all the time, and had a couple of shots at goal and has been significantly more positive about his football in the past couple of weeks.
Marlon Motlop (for Bloods reserves vs Magpies)
Marlon had similar numbers to last week - 25 possessions or so - but his touches weren’t as damaging as they have been in previous weeks. He continues to strive to get the consistency and quality possessions in his game that will get him to league level. His defensive awareness is much better than it has been, so that was pleasing.
Jason Davenport (for Bloods vs Magpies)
Dav tries his guts out, but it just wasn’t working for him this week. He didn’t have a heap of possessions nor a great impact upon the game, but his workrate is unquestionable.
Daniel Webb (for Bloods vs Magpies)
Webby had a down game this week. He needs to keep working on his consistency in the marking contests so that he can impact the play like he’d want to on a week-to-week basis.
Jacob Surjan (for Magpies vs Bloods)
This was one of Surj’s better games for a while. He played predominantly an on-ball role for Port, and his grunt and intensity around the stoppage was more like the ‘old’ Surj that we want to see. He had around 27 possessions and a number of clearances.
Mitch Banner (for Magpies vs Bloods)
Mitch was solid once more and as good as he’s been, picking up 27 possessions. As per previous weeks he’s continuing to focus on his defensive intensity, and win a number of clearances, and continues to be a very important player for his side around the stoppages.
Brett Ebert (for Magpies vs Bloods)
Ebert played another role where he alternated between midfield and forward. His intensity around the stoppage when it’s in close is really good and his tackling is great. Up forward he missed out on taking a couple of marks and picking up a couple of ground balls that could’ve seen him score a goal, and he missed a shot - he didn’t quite cash in up forward as would be expected.
Jarrad Redden (for Eagles reserves vs Panthers)
As would be expected after 10 weeks out he was rusty but dominant in the ruck, having 38 hit-outs and 10 possessions. He was definitely the best ruckman on the ground and spent some time forward as well, and it was really pleasing that he got though a game and he should be looking for bigger and better things in the weeks to come.
Danny Meyer (for Tigers reserves vs Roosters)
Danny came off looking a bit sore towards the end of the game, but had been reasonably solid prior to that. He played on-ball and changed forward, getting himself in and amongst the game and performing reasonably well.
Aaron Young (for Roosters reserves vs Tigers)
Youngie had a fantastic start to the last quarter, really taking control and looking like he was going to win the game for North Adelaide on his own. Unfortunately he couldn’t quite hang on to the run that he was showing and they ended up not quite getting there, but it was a good performance by Youngie, with his hard running a real feature of his game.
Daniel Motlop (for Roosters vs Tigers)
Mots kicked four goals with a number of those from the goalsquare. He needs to continue to work harder both offensively and defensively, but to kick four goals is a solid effort for anybody.
Steve Salopek (for Tigers vs Roosters)
This was probably Sal’s best match since going back to Glenelg. He really ran the lines and used his pace while playing on-ball, and spent a little of time across half-forward as well. His on-ball work has really improved and he took a few large steps on the weekend towards playing again at AFL level.
Chad Cornes (for Tigers vs Roosters)
It was a tough day up forward for Chad, with delivery into the Glenelg front half not really of a high standard, with Glenelg convincingly beaten in the first three quarters before a good final term. He kicked a couple of goals.
Cam Hitchcock (for Tigers vs Roosters)
Hitchcock was a stand-out performance in a losing side, really running hard and getting reward for his hard work over the last month in the SANFL. He finished with a high disposal count (27 possessions) and kicked four goals from reading off the packs in a fantastic effort from him.
Previous SANFL Reports
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