Round 18 SANFL Snapshot – Saturday

North Adelaide was made to sweat as it all but secured the Hostplus SANFL League minor premiership with a pulsating six-point win against West Adelaide at Prospect.

Conceding the opening three goals of the contest, the Roosters appeared set for a comfortable victory when late-season bloomer Tyson Brazel opened up a game-high 22 point lead 23 minutes into the third quarter.

But the resurgent Bloods, coming off wins against Port and South in their past three matches, again showed plenty of spirit as Josh Gore lined up to tie up the scores closing in on time-on in the fourth quarter.

Gore’s shot hit the post and when North ruckman Mitch Harvey coolly slotted through his set shot less than two minutes later, it appeared the premiership points were secured.

But West’s Michael Mattingly had other ideas, kicking a checkside goal just over a minute later to again trim the deficit to just five points.

As his team’s desperation to chalk up a third win for the season became obvious, it was up to North livewire Keanu Miller to produce a brilliant chase down tackle on the outer wing to ensure the visitors wouldn’t walk away with a draw after Brazel kicked a behind in the 26th minute.

The siren sounded much to the relief of the Roosters, who can control their destiny with a win against Sturt in Round 19.

Harvey was brilliant in the ruck against a promising opponent in teenager Oscar Steene, finishing with 22 disposals, 11 clearances, 17 hit outs and six inside 50s to go with his critical fourth-term major.

Harrison Wigg collected 26 disposals and 11 marks in his 100th League game while captain Alex Spina finished with 25 disposals.

Losing key defender Josh Ryan for the fourth term after a heavy knock, the Bloods had Hamish Hartlett produce his best game of the season with a game-high 31 disposals, seven clearances and 10 tackles.

Fellow midfielders Jordon Boyle and Patrick Fairlie each tallied 25 disposals while sharp-shooting key forward Hamish Ellem was a constant threat for West while booting four of his team’s 10 goals.

Woodville-West Torrens’ finals flame continues to flicker after a slogging its way to a seven-point win against Sturt at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval.

Needing to win to keep their hopes of a hat-trick of flags alive, the Eagles did exactly that despite having 12 fewer inside 50 entries and three less scoring shots.

As a result, Jade Sheedy’s side can qualify for the top five if it defeats South Adelaide at Noarlunga and Sturt succumbs to North at Unley while making up the 2.1 percentage differential on the ladder.

If the Eagles get the same even spread of contributors it got against the Double Blues, it will be tough for the Panthers to overcome considering midfielders Dylan Clarke (24 disposals), Mitch Hardie (21 disposals), Riley Knight (21 disposals) and Joey Sinor (19 disposals) all chimed in.

Hardie capped the play of the night when he goaled on the run after the reigning premier ran the ball nicely from half-back to earn a 14-point lead in the ninth minute of the fourth term.

Sturt’s Josh Hone then marked and nailed a pressure set shot from 35m to trim the margin back to eight points entering time-on.

The premiership livewire then had a chance to close the gap even further but his clever checkside shot on the run hit the post, leaving his side seven points behind in the 27th minute.

Rebounding half-back Casey Voss was exceptional with his 26 disposals and 11 marks while burly Tom Lewis revelled in the wet conditions to finish with 19 disposals, eight tackles and five clearances.

But ultimately, the visitors will be left to lament an opportunity lost to close the door on the dangerous Eagles as Martin Mattner’s men chase victory against ladder-leading North Adelaide next Saturday.

Adelaide kept its hope of winning the minor premiership alive with a resounding 55-point win against Central District at Adelaide Oval. 

Now sitting in second place, just one win behind top-placed North Adelaide, the Crows need to defeat Port Adelaide in Round 19 while relying on Sturt toppling the Roosters at Unley.

Leading by just seven points at half-time, Michael Godden’s outfit exploded during the third quarter, kicking 7.3 to the Dogs’ solitary behind.

Earning a commanding 51-point buffer by the final change, Adelaide led by as much as 64 points when Fisher McAsey kicked truly in the 19th minute of the fourth quarter.

Dominating the hit outs and the clearances, the finals-bound Crows were well-served by ruckman Kieran Strachan, who finished with 20 disposals, five marks, four clearances, four tackles, a goal and 45 hit outs.

He provided prime midfielders Jackson Hately (31 disposals, six clearances), Matt Crouch (30 disposals, six clearance) and Lachlan Sholl (26 disposals) with plenty of opportunity to thrive.

Billy Frampton (23 disposals) controlled the tempo in defence for the Crows while Elliott Himmelberg worked hard up the ground for his 22 disposals and 10 marks as fellow forward Lachlan Gollant hit the scoreboard with five goals.

Missing captain Jarrod Schiller with a knee injury, the Bulldogs had acting skipper Justin Hoskin leading the way with 32 disposals while ultra-consistent pair Travis Schiller (29 disposals, six clearances) and Kyle Presbury (26 disposals, four clearances) battled hard.

Rebounding Central defender Billy Iles (20 disposals) used the ball well by foot Aiden Grace kicked 3.3 from 14 disposals and seven marks.