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The following information is provided by Phillip Monk [moustrap@camtech.net.au], and is updated here after the weekends games. All credit for this information goes to Phillip and is being used with permission.
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| NORWOOD | 4.3 | 11.5 | 14.5 | 17.5 107 |
| North | 0.4 | 2.7 | 7.9 | 11.12 78 |
| STURT | 2.2 | 4.5 | 8.11 | 13.12 90 |
| Eagles | 3.4 | 5.4 | 6.4 | 7.4 46 |
| PORT | 5.4 | 8.7 | 11.12 | 14.12 96 |
| West | 1.5 | 4.10 | 6.17 | 6.19 55 |
| GLENELG | 3.1 | 5.4 | 7.5 | 15.8 98 |
| Central | 2.3 | 6.5 | 8.7 | 9.9 63 |
Reports
It was top versus bottom at Adelaide
Oval and the teams played to expectations up to half time, Norwood
holding a commanding 52-point lead against the Roosters. Norwood's
midfielders such as Obst, Dickie, Harvey and Thiessen feasted
on Sherrin while the North forwards made a meal of the scraps
that came their way, managing 2.7 by half-time.
The second half was an altogether different story. Chris Naish,
who had been playing a lone hand in the midfield for North, got
some support and found a target up forward in youngster Ryan
McGahey, who kicked 4.2 after coming on at half-time. North got
within 19 points half-way through the last quarter but Norwood
steadied with the last two goals of the match for an unflattering
29-point win. Pitt, Bowman and Fleming were all solid in defence
for the Redlegs while the scoring was led by Thiessen with three
sausage rolls. Naish was North's outstanding performer with 31
kicks, 12 marks and 14 handballs.
The Double Blues got back in
the winner's list with an impressive 44-point win over the Eagles
at Unley, celebrating Fabulous Phil Carman's 100th game as coach.
The Eagles had the chance to take a stranglehold on the double-chance
but have now fallen within reach of the pack. For Sturt, it was
a question of do-or-die as they could have found themselves two
games out of the five if they lost and other results had gone
against them.
The Eagles started well, leading for most of the first half,
and after Wiggins kicked the first goal after the break they
led by 11 points. It seemed that they would continue their good
run of form which saw them roll Port last week.
But, amazingly, they only managed 1.0 for the rest of the game
while the Blues slammed on 9.7. Sturt's backline of Thredgold,
Maloney and "Sodastream" Soderstrom shut down the Eagles
forwards while the Blue midfield continued to work hard to give
Julian Burton (five goals) and Dean Woosnam (three) plenty of
opportunity. The primary producers for the Blueies' midfield
were Squire (28 possessions) and Weatherald (31 possessions).
Wiggins was the Eagles only multiple goalscorer with two, while
old heads Andrew Rogers and John McCarthy were their most consistent
performers.
West pulled another Jekyll-and-Hyde
performance to lose badly to Port at Alberton. West had been
in great form recently and this game had been given match of
the round billing. However, some of the West boys fluffed their
lines completely on the big occasion.
Port first-gamer Aaron Fiora, 18, played the best debut quarter
of league football since Barrie Robran to have ten kicks and
five handpasses by quarter time, when Port already held a twenty-three
point lead. From there Port simply maintained control of the
match, its defenders led by Leys and Fiegert making West work
very hard for clean scoring opportunities. West had their fair
share of possession and even hard-working key forwards in Tim
Symes and Adam Richardson, but a real lack of goal-scoring potential
at ground level kept the game out of their reach.
Port on the other hand had two clearly winning forwards in Evans
(five goals) and Phillipou (four goals) and a group of crumbers
to set up a winning score. Fiora finshed with 29 possessions,
kicked a goal and beat two opponents. Should be interesting to
see where he goes in the draft. Adam Richardson kicked 4.5 for
West, while their most productive midfielders were Barrett, Andriske
and Dempsey.
Glenelg took a big step towards
their first finals series since 1994 with a six-goal win over
Central at the Bay. Central are now a game plus percentage outside
the five, and two games plus percentage behind Glenelg.
It was a far from one-sided contest though as Central kicked
the first two goals of the match, and thereafter generally prevented
Glenelg from playing a free flowing game. The Dogs' performance
was far more accountable than last week's miserable effort against
West and Damien Arnold gave his midfielders Hulm, Lillico, Bello
and Macgowan first purchase on the pill for much of the first
three quarters.
Glenelg were only eight points behind at lemon-time though, and
Coach McGuiness told them that there was still a game to be won.
Alistair Burke kicked the first goal of the quarter to put the
Tigers within a kick, then Ben Physick did a Daicos from the
boundary line to put them in front. The Doggies immediately responded
with a great goal from a set shot by last minute replacement
Derek Barr, but then it was all one way traffic as Matthew Golding
took over in ruck from a tiring Arnold to set the Bays up for
a six-goal unanswered blitz to finish the game.
Kelly, Higgins and Mellody were the best players for Glenelg
while Burke and McEntee led their goalkicking with three each.
Captain Danny Hulm (two goals), Arnold and Barr (three goals)
led the BPs for the visitors. Glenelg paid a high price for victory
with consistent performer James Byrne breaking his arm and Lance
Picione twisting an ankle in the last stanza.
Premiership Table
| Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | For | Against | Percentage | Points | |
| NORWOOD | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1342 | 1117 | 54.58 | 22 |
| PORT | 15 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1256 | 1049 | 54.49 | 22 |
| EAGLES | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1198 | 1048 | 53.34 | 18 |
| GLENELG | 15 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 1123 | 1048 | 51.73 | 18 |
| WEST | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1377 | 1196 | 53.52 | 16 |
| Sturt | 15 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1305 | 1135 | 53.48 | 16 |
| Central | 15 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 1194 | 1257 | 48.71 | 14 |
| South | 15 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 1113 | 1402 | 44.25 | 4 |
| North | 15 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 941 | 1597 | 37.08 | 4 |
Leading Goalkickers
| J Burton | Sturt | 54 |
| A Richardson | West | 44 |
| G Mellor | West | 38 |
| D Hams | South | 35 |
| R Neill (not the Bob Neil) | Norwood | 34 |
| M Pavlich | Eagles | 32 |
Next Week - Round 18
Friday 29 July
Eagles v West (Adelaide Oval)
Saturday 30 July
North v Port (Prospect Oval)
Central v Sturt (Elizabeth Oval)
Friday 29 July
South v Glenelg (Noarlunga Oval)
Norwood - Bye
The official SANFL web site is located at: http://www.sanfl.com.au/
Author: Phillip Monk Email: [moustrap@camtech.net.au]
Curator: Darryl
Harvey
email: {darryl@myinternet.com.au}
Last Updated: 26 July 1999
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