Rd 16 Previews

[Wedgie]

BATTLE FOR SPOTS HOTS UP!

We’re still in the midst of a cold winter, but with just eight rounds to go until the major round, the battle for spots in the top five is really starting to heat up!

North Adelaide and the Eagles are threatening to make it a two-horse race for the minor premiership – and the all-important break on the first weekend of the finals that goes with it – while Central and Port are both eyeing a top-three finish and the double chance. Then there’s Glenelg, South Adelaide and Norwood, who are in a three-way war for fifth. Every game now is crucial.

This weekend, the Roosters face a tough challenge against the Magpies to remain at the head of the pack. North should be fresh enough having only played three matches in the past five weeks, however will need to be on top of their game to knock off Port at Alberton, which is always a stern test.

The Eagles will start a hot favourite to beat lowly Sturt at Unley and extend their winning streak to nine, Norwood must beat Central at Coopers Stadium to keep its finals pulse pumping, while Glenelg will be out to consolidate fifth position – and continue West’s misery – in their encounter at the Bay.


DOUBLE BLUES vs EAGLES
Sturt hasn’t beaten Woodville-West Torrens in over three years, and despite the Double Blues’ improved form last weekend, the drought appears certain to continue.

The Eagles have not only won their past eight against Sturt, their average winning margin in those eight contests is 46 points, so it’s fair to say they’ve got the wood on the Blues.

Injuries have also rocked Brenton Phillips’ men (or should that be boys?), while the Eagles continue to go from strength to strength.


MAGPIES vs ROOSTERS
Last week, Port coach Tim Ginever conceded his side might not be up to a top-three finish, but would no doubt happily eat his words if the Magpies can upset pacesetter North.

But the odds are firmly in the Roosters’ favour. North has won five of its past six games against Port, and has clearly been the better side in recent weeks – in fact, throughout the season to date.

Playing at Alberton gives the Magpies some chance, but as they found out last week against the Eagles, they’ll need much more than home ground advantage to beat North.


TIGERS vs BLOODS
The Tigers are back in town and have a great opportunity this weekend to sneak a game clear of South and Norwood in their battle for fifth spot.

Hosting a sore and sorry West Adelaide lot at the Bay, Glenelg displayed fighting qualities to fend off the Panthers last Sunday, and will not want to waste that effort with a lacklustre follow-up.

With the wooden spoon firmly in hand, the Bloods only have pride to play for now – which could spark the side – but until that happens, you simply can’t tip Westies.


REDLEGS vs BULLDOGS
By 5pm on Saturday, Norwood supporters will have a much clearer indication of whether or not their side will play in this year’s finals series. Win and the Redlegs are well and truly in the hunt; lose and their stocks will plummet.

Playing in front of the Coopers Stadium faithful, Norwood will need everything to go its way if it’s to upset the Dogs, particularly considering Central has taken the points in eight of their past nine meetings.

The Legs have everything to play for, but Roy Laird’s men have fought back well after an indifferent opening to the season, and should consolidate third spot.


Courtesy of The South Australian Football Budget
Story by Kieran Hall

[Wedgie]

ROUND 15 NOTES:

Eagles 19.11.125 d Port 12.11.83 by 42pts @ Alberton Oval
- Eagles 8th win in a row, have now defeated every team in the league
- Eagles have won 4 of the last 5 at Alberton

Sturt 14.15.99 d West 5.14.44 by 55pts @ Broadspectrum Oval
- Double Blues 9th straight victory over the Bloods
- Sturt had 128 more possessions and 10 more scoring shots
- Lowest score Sturt has conceded this season.

Glenelg 19.10.124 d South 11.16.82 by 42pts @ Glenelg Oval
- Tigers broke 3 game losing streak.


ROUND 16 PREVIEWS:

STURT v EAGLES
2.20pm Saturday July 22 @ Unley Oval
All Time Record : Played 42, Eagles won 33, Sturt won 9
All Time @ Unley : Played 8, Eagles won 4, Sturt won 4
All Recent Encounters : Eagles have won last 8, Sturt last win Rd 14 (July 5) 2003 @Unley
Recent @ Unley : Eagles have last 2 and 4 of last 6
Recent Results
2006 Rd 7 May 13 @ Woodville Eagles 20.11.131 d Sturt 9.6.60 by 71pts
2005 Rd 12 June 18 @ Unley Eagles 17.12.114 d Sturt 5.7.37 by 74pts
2005 Rd 3 April 9 @ Woodville Eagles 19.16.130 d Sturt 13.12.90 by 40pts
2004 PF Sept 26 @ Adelaide Eagles 17.14.116 d Sturt 9.7.61 by 55pts
2004 QF Sept 12 @ Adelaide Eagles 16.6.102 d Sturt 10.7.67 by 35pts
2004 Rd 19 Aug 7 @ Adelaide Eagles 21.6.132 d Sturt 11.8.74 by 58pts
2004 Rd 12 June 19 @ Unley Eagles 8.5.53 d Sturt 4.8.32 by 21pts
2004 Rd 4 Apr 24 @ Woodville Eagles 12.11.83 d Sturt 10.6.66 by 17pts
Road Home – Sturt: Bye, Central @ Adelaide, Glenelg @ Unley, South @ Unley, Port @ Alberton, Norwood @ Adelaide, Eagles @ Unley
Road Home – Eagles: West @ Woodville, South @ Noarlunga, North @ Woodville, Norwood @ Woodville, Bye, Port @ Woodville, Sturt @ Unley
Media Coverage: 1197am RPH Adelaide from 1.30pm (live on http://www.rphadelaide.org.au)

PORT v NORTH
2.15pm Saturday July 22 @ Alberton Oval
1907-2006 Record : Played 242, Port won 165, North won 77
1907-2006 @ Alberton : Played 88, Port won 62, North won 26
All Recent Encounters : North have won 5 of the last 6
Recent @ Alberton : North won the last 2, Port the previous 5
Recent Results
2006 Rd 13 May 13 @ Prospect North 17.13.115 d Port 14.7.91 by 24pts
2005 Rd 16 July 17 @ Alberton North 16.13.109 d Port 11.11.77 by 32pts
2005 Rd 5 April 23 @ Prospect Port 14.14.98 d North 12.12.84 by 14pts
2004 Rd 19 Aug 7 @ Alberton North 18.12.120 d Port 14.17.101 by 19pts
2004 Rd 12 June 19 @ Adelaide North 15.9.98 d Port 10.8.68 by 30pts
2004 Rd 4 April 24 @ Prospect North 11.4.70 d Port 6.13.49 by 21pts
Road Home – Port: Glenelg @ Glenelg, Bye, Central @ Alberton, West @ Broadspectrum, Sturt @ Alberton, Eagles @ Woodville, North @ Adelaide
Road Home – North: Norwood @ Prospect, West @ Broadspectrum, Eagles @ Woodville, Glenelg @ Glenelg, South @ Prospect, Central @ Hamra Homes, Port @ Adelaide
Media Coverage: ABC TV from 2.30pm

GLENELG v WEST
2.20pm Saturday July 22 @ Glenelg Oval
All Time Record : Played 201, West 107, Glenelg won 92, Drawn 2
All Time @ Glenelg : Played 82, West won 41, Glenelg won 39, Drawn 1
Recent Encounters : Glenelg has won 3 of the last 4
Recent @ Broadspectrum : Glenelg won the last 2 encounters, West the previous 5
Recent Results
2006 Rd 7 May 13 @ Br’Specrum Glenelg 17.20.122 d West 8.9.57 by 65pts
2005 Rd 18 July 30 @ Adelaide West 19.14.128 d Glenelg 12.15.87 by 41pts
2005 Rd 11 June 13 @ Glenelg Glenelg 17.13.115 d West 8.13.61 by 54pts
2005 Rd 1 March 26 @ Br’Spectrum Glenelg 15.12.102 d West 14.7.91 by 11pts
2004 Rd 15 July 10 @ Glenelg West 14.10.94 d Glenelg 11.12.78 by 16pts
2004 Rd 9 May 28 @ Br’spectrum West 14.11.95 d Glenelg 12.9.81 by 14pts
Road Home – Glenelg: Port @ Glenelg, Norwood @ Coopers, Sturt @ Unley, North @ Glenelg, Central @ Hamra Homes, Bye, South @ Adelaide
Road Home – West: Eagles @ Woodville, North @ Broadspectrum, Bye, Port @ Broadspectrum, Norwood @ Coopers, South @ Noarlunga, Central @ Broadspectrum
Media Coverage: Live Crosses on 1197am RPH Adelaide

NORWOOD v CENTRAL
2.20pm Saturday July 22 @ Coopers Stadium
All Time Record : Played 108, Norwood won 59, Central won 49
All Time @ Coopers : Played 37, Norwood won 23, Central won 14
Recent Encounters : Central have won 8 of the last 9
Recent @ Coopers : Norwood won the last encounter, Central the previous 2
Recent Results
2006 Rd 9 June 3 @ HamraHomes Central 16.17.113 d Norwood 11.7.73 by 40pts
2005 Rd 20 Aug 13 @ NAP Central 15.9.99 d Norwood 12.13.85 by 14pts
2005 Rd 10 June 5 @ Norwood Norwood 16.7.103 d Central 10.12.72 by 31pts
2005 Rd 2 April 2 @ NAP Central 14.12.96 d Norwood 6.8.44 by 52pts
2004 Rd 17 July 24 @ NAP Central 17.14.116 d Norwood 9.12.66 by 50pts
2004 Rd 7 May 15 @ Norwood Central 22.9.141 d Norwood 11.14.80 by 61pts
Road Home – Norwood: North @ Prospect, Glenelg @ Coopers, South @ Noarlunga, Eagles @ Woodville, West @ Coopers, Sturt @ Adelaide, By e
Road Home – Central: South @ Hamra Homes, Sturt @ Adelaide, Port @ Alberton, Bye, Glenelg @ Hamra Homes, North @ Hamra Homes, West @ Broadspectrum
Media Coverage: Life FM 107.9 from 2.00pm (live on http://www.life.on.net)

SANFL Stats Report prepared by Phil Herden

[Wedgie]

Current odds from Thornton Sports Bet:

5.00 STURT
1.10 WOOD-TORRENS

2.40 PORT ADELAIDE
1.50 NORTH ADELAIDE

1.12 GLENELG
4.50 WEST ADELAIDE

2.20 NORWOOD
1.60 CENTRAL DIST

[ca]

Two points,

1) How long would it have been since Glenelg were such hot favourites in the betting?
2) I would have had Norwood more out around the $4.00.

[Ecky]

[GLENELG v WEST
2.20pm Saturday July 22 @ Glenelg Oval
Recent @ Broadspectrum : Glenelg won the last 2 encounters, West the previous 5

Minor mistake just to let you know that people do read this - the recent record should be the one at Glenelg, not at Richmond.

1) How long would it have been since Glenelg were such hot favourites in the betting?

I don't have exact records of this going back that far (aim to get them soon...) but I suspect you may need to go back to 1996 against Sturt. (Definitely 1999 at least)

Earlier this year we were 1.25 against Sturt and also 1.25 last year against West at Glenelg, which I believe were our shortest odds since 1999 (according to Thornton's odds in Friday's papers)

[Wedgie]

North's side to face Port:

F Younie Hargraves M.Campbell
HF Gill Perrie Walker
C Ryswyk Ladhams Bamford
HB Ivens Alleway Koops
B McIntyre Schubert B.White

Ruck: O'Hara Howard Krieg

Interchange: Down Kaesler Edwards

In: Alleway, Walker, Perrie, Down

Out:Wintle (Calf), Gatto (Hamstring), Wakelin, D. Ebert

[MST]

It still amazes me that Norwood are being talked about as potential finalists.

Road Home – Norwood: North @ Prospect, Glenelg @ Coopers, South @ Noarlunga, Eagles @ Woodville, West @ Coopers, Sturt @ Adelaide, Bye

Norwood won't play finals, in fact, I still give my boys a chance of overhauling them on the ladder.

Road Home – Sturt: Bye, Central @ Adelaide, Glenelg @ Unley, South @ Unley, Port @ Alberton, Norwood @ Adelaide, Eagles @ Unley

[am Bays]

Bays lose Clarke and West gain Porplyzia, from the 1997-98 World Champions.......

And the Smears have named Willits on an extended bench, hopefully just as cover for Cornesy but they also need to look at him too to see if he can play.

Ah the joys of having AFL listed players......

Looking forward to next week Port have gained Maric for this week, and a half decent game from Perrie one would think he would be back up and Hentschell should be right from a corkie next week too, so the infedels will most likely have Stevens next week as well......

Mind you were are still good enough to beat west provided we turn up with the right attitude, but it wont be the thrashing everyone is predicting on FootySA.

[Wedgie]

Doug Robertson brought up an amazing stat tonight, with Mark Clayton missing this week's game its his first game out injured since playing Under 15s and he'd put togehter 298 games in a row!!!!!!

Also joining Maric in the Magpies side is Kingsley.

[RoosterMarty]

298 is incredible stuff

[Wedgie]

From the Advertiser:

North unveils new gun forward
DOUG ROBERTSON
21jul06

NORTH Adelaide will unleash key forward Clint Alleway and it has picked up Crows gun Ian Perrie to face Port Adelaide Magpies in the match-of-the-round at Alberton tomorrow.

A former Kangaroos rookie, Alleway has played just one SANFL reserves game after a pre-season ankle injury but he was considered one of the best tall forwards in the VFL before crossing the border this season.

Factor in Perrie, for the first time since the 2004 finals, defender Kingsley Walker, rated highly by coach Andrew Jarman and handy big man Matthew Down and North seems to just get stronger even without skipper Darryl Wintle (calf) and Shaun Gatto (hamstring).

Daniel Wakelin and Daniel Ebert were dropped but Heath Younie will play his 100th game for the Roosters.

Port has at least one counter measure to North's sheer bulk and height with the Crows' Ivan Maric sent back. And the Power's Adam Kingsley will add grunt. Matt Gates and Dane Fitzgerald were recalled but Port will miss the toughness of skipper Mark Clayton (knee), Kristian DePasquale (cheekbone) and veteran defender Tom Carr.

Statistically, it is easy to argue a case for either outfit to win in what looms as an utter blockbuster. The fourth-placed Maggies collectively gather more possessions (345.8 to 325.8 on average) than top-placed North.

Not surprisingly Port averages a lower percentage of handballs per kicks (36.7 per cent to 39.4 per cent) but it takes 13 possessions to register a score while the running Roosters strike with every 10th touch, on average.

Three goals is a handy lead in any game, however Port balances the scale a bit by being more accurate in front of goal and it has a marginally more miserly defence, conceding 93.4 points a week to North's 96.2 points.

The Magpies - with only Clive Waterhouse (29 goals) to look to in general - also score 56 goals from every 100 scoring shots to be the league's fourth most accurate. Now it must find another avenue to keep the Rooster defenders second-guessing. That might be Maric.

North goals from 52.5 per cent of its scoring shots, ranking a surprising seventh in accuracy rating among the nine teams. But it has Nick Gill, Daniel Hargraves, Younie and now Perrie and Alleway to go to overhear and Matt Campbell's blistering speed is deadly. In full flight North is almost unstoppable. Jarman encourages his men to take risks - he's told them he doesn't mind a few mistakes just as long at they are firing at full tilt and always attacking.

Jarman's biggest headache tomorrow is fitting the big bodies in the right places with the correct blend of runners without unbalancing North's trademark run and devastating free-flowing style against the Maggies' usual fierce attack on the body.


Mickan wants four out of four
DOUG ROBERTSON
21jul06

IT IS time for Glenelg to surge and end lingering doubts about its abilities - or desire - to contest the finals in September.

It must crush West Adelaide at Glenelg tomorrow but the Tigers would also be viewing the next month as a critical patch in their season and they have the outfit to make it matter.

Tall forward Jeff Smith comes in with AFL experienced midfielder Jarrad Sunqvist and Brad Yeomans. Tom Logan has been named but is unlikely to play and the Crows have reclaimed Matthew Clarke but the Tigers have enough to counter the loss of the ruckman with Trevor Cranston (196cm) and possibly Ryan Willits (197cm).

After beating South Adelaide last week, Glenelg is locked in a battle with South and Norwood for fifth spot.

Each are on six wins and the Tigers face Port Adelaide, Norwood then Sturt after the Bloods so Glenelg can blow them away if capable. Given a strong month, Glenelg will even threaten Port for fourth spot.

"Attitude is the key to it," coach Mark Mickan said. "We need to be very well prepared mentally every time we play . . . when we do that, we are competitive with everybody.

"(But) I don't think we've won four quarters in one game for the year, even in our good wins."

West has some depth this week with the Power's Peter Walsh, Adelaide's Jason Porplyzia plus twice State Fos Williams Medallist Ben Hollands coming in.

Highly-rated Caolan Buckley, son of the Bloods' 1970s on-baller Jimmy Buckley, will debut in attack which adds the unknown and skilful Scott Welsh is at the goalfront. But James Ezard has gone to the Power, Matt Cragg-Sapsford (concussion) is hurt and Mark Miller and Brad Fisher will have a run in the twos.

West is struggling to find more than a handful of four-quarter performers - take out Marc Dragicevic, Ben Haynes, Ross Glover and David Piasente and there are no regular contributors.

Coach Wayne Weidemann says the Bloods have "taken ownership" of their limp performances, so Mickan will know what he has to work with by 5pm tomorrow night.

Our big test, says Hill
WARREN PARTLAND
21jul06

PERUSE the SANFL ladder and a second glance is required to confirm Norwood's position.

While the majority of discussions on the race for fifth spot have focused on Glenelg and South Adelaide, the Redlegs are definitely in the hunt for a finals berth - on the evidence of the premiership table anyway.

The Redlegs have recorded six wins from 13 games for the season, the same as the Tigers and Panthers.

It is difficult to get excited about Norwood's chances. In fact, when you consider the top five possibilities the Redlegs are the first team to be written off. Twice they have beaten West Adelaide and Sturt while also claiming a win against Glenelg and South Adelaide. All six games against the top four - North Adelaide, Woodville-West Torrens, Central District and Port Adelaide Magpies - have been defeats.

Glenelg has accounted for the Eagles and Bulldogs this season. The Panthers have wins against the Bulldogs and Magpies. So if Norwood is to be a serious threat for a role in the major round its clash with the Bulldogs at The Parade tomorrow is just the sort of game it needs to grab.

Its efforts this year are the reason why Norwood coach Trevor Hill repeated the comment: "Where we sit is where we deserve to be until we beat a side in the top four.

"There are three sides battling for one spot so this game is certainly pretty important.

"Central District will be near full strength and it is battling for a spot in terms of the top three. So we expect nothing less than a tough challenge from them."

Norwood regained Matthew Thomas from the Power and included Chad Gibson in a 23-man squad.

The Redlegs endured a testing week on the training track leading up to last weekend's bye. They were then given the weekend free of football to freshen the body and mind.

As for the Bulldogs, they need to find some consistency and string some solid performances together.

The Bulldogs regained Bradley Currie and Quinton Graham and omitted Alex Stengle and Alan Obst.

[Aerie]

Feast backs Sturt's young guns
ZAC MILBANK
21jul06

FINALS may be out of the equation for Sturt . . . but shaping them certainly is not.

And confronting the SANFL's form side - Woodville-West Torrens - on an eight-game winning streak at Unley is also the perfect learning experience for the Double Blues' youngsters.

Nick Wark, Luke Button and Ryan Herring made their debuts in the win against West Adelaide on Sunday but what they glean from playing the Eagles will be of greater benefit.

"If you play against these guys who are performing at a good level hopefully you can pick up a few points on how they handle themselves on the field," Sturt ruckman Simon Feast said. "That's the only way to learn these things . . . by playing against them. These guys are the premiership favourites and it's certainly a big challenge for ourselves with some young kids in the side."

With fringe players such as Adam Klun, Adrian Burton and most recently Andrew Beveridge making room for opportunity, Feast is all for blooding the youth at Unley.

"I personally think it's a good thing for the club to give these kids an opportunity," Feast, 31, said.

"It's going to give them two or three years to get a few games and a bit of experience under their belts before they turn into really good league players."

But it doesn't mean Brenton Phillips' men will just roll over and accept losing, particularly on home soil at Oxford Terrace.

"By all means we respect them as opposition," Feast said. "But that doesn't mean we think they're unbeatable . . . we're certainly going to go out there and give it our best and hopefully get the points on Saturday afternoon."

Two more Sturt juniors could be let loose tomorrow with Nick and James Smith chances to debut. Power pair Ben Eckermann and Tom Rischbieth also come in. Ben Colreavy (knee) and Toby Thurstans (Power) were unavailable. Feast's team-mates were given a boost at the Eagles' selection table with key Adelaide players Hayden Skipworth (soreness) and Nathan Bock (Crows) unavailable.

Sam Fairclough, Jason Earl and possible debutant defender Nick Salter were added to the Eagles' 22.

Salter, a teenage product of the Eagles' junior system, must survive the cut to play his first league game.

[MightyEagles]

Although I tipped the Dogs, I want Norwood to win.

[doggies4eva]

Although I tipped the Dogs, I want Norwood to win.

Next you'll be saying you want to win a GF

[MightyEagles]

Yeah, and next you'll say 'not a chance'.
Any fan would say that they want their team to win a GF.

[Strawb]

I feel that Glenelg will have a field day but the Bloods might Switch themselves on and play good football. Mes thinks Westies will be thumped down at Brighton Road. Glenelg will have a training run if Westies are not careful.
North to beat Port at Alberton i dunno why i just feel the pies will not be good enough.
Eagles to win the the shite heap called fugly oval.
Norwood in an upset.

[am Bays]

Choco has named Logan as an emergency????? Sh!t Choco, we'll take him back but surely you would've wanted to have an extended look at him to see if he can cut it for next year.....

One would have also thought you'd want to have a look at Willits before his 2nd year is up.....

Wait a minute, I know, they'll both play next week when we are due to play your little brother club, nothing like looking after them is it with some judicious selections of their opponents AFL listed players. Ah well they are your players I susppose.....

You must hate West more than us for fighting your transfer back to Alberton in 1979.

[CENTURION]

These are the sort of games that Glenelg LOVE to stuff up,
Central WILL win easily,
North by 6 goals,
Wiggles by 14 goals.

[Strawb]

I tipped this round to the TEE hehehe i did it YAHOO