Round 17 Hostplus SANFL Snapshot – Saturday

Central District’s season is alive after a stunning sealing goal from Kyle Presbury earned a memorable two-point win against North Adelaide at Prospect Oval.

Needing victory to stay in the race for the major round, the Bulldogs’ classy playmaker baulked around one opponent before kicking truly from 40m to put his side in front approaching time-on of the last quarter.

Earning their first win at Menzies Crescent since Round 4 of 2019, the Dogs can sew up a place in the Elimination Final  with by claiming the premiership points against Port Adelaide at X Convenience Oval next Saturday.

Should they succumb to the Magpies, they will need to rely on Sturt defeating North at Prospect in Round 18 while also minimising their loss of percentage given they boast just 0.2 per cent more than the Roosters.

Paul Thomas’ men registered 14 more inside 50 entries as star midfielder Harry Grant continues his career-best season with 32 disposals, six clearances and a clever soccer goal which wouldn’t have looked out of place at the World Cup.

Veteran Justin Hoskin recorded 22 possessions and seven marks, reliable defender Jez McLennan had 19 disposals while Presbury finished with 18 touches, including his memorable major.

Bulldog forwards Aiden Grace and Hugo Munn kicked two goals each.

Without star trio Alex Spina (quad), Campbell Combe (suspension) and Aaron Young (hamstring), the hosts also lost last week’s Powerade Breakthrough Player Max Blacker early in the contest.

Running defender Jack McCann tallied 24 disposals and a goal while North’s Andrew Moore collected 23 disposals, nine clearances and nine tackles while spending more time in the midfield.

Harrison Elbrow and Karl Finlay booted two goals each for North, with Elbrow’s second goal being a ripper checkside effort from the pocket.

Adelaide sent a major warning shot to its fellow finals contenders with a gutsy 16-point win against Sturt at Wigan Oval.

Fielding a line-up which included just 11 AFL-listed players, the Crows’ breathed life into the battle for the minor premiership with a stunning 10-goal second half.

Starting the afternoon in third place, Adelaide can now finish top of the ladder by defeating Norwood in Round 18 and relying on Glenelg losing to South Adelaide.

Regardless of where the Crows finish at the end of the home-and-away season, they are going to take some stopping in September given they defeated a fellow top-three team without Kieran Strachan, Elliott Himmelberg, Jack Madgen, Will Hamill and captain Matthew Wright to name a few.

Plus they were also without returning Andrew McPherson for the majority of the contest after the luckless defender appeared to re-injure himself.

Crows midfielders Lachlan Sholl (29 disposals, one goal), Jackson Hately (28 disposals, one goal) and Sam Berry (24 disposals) were all influential while Billy Dowling finished with an impressive checkside goal from the pocket amongst his 21 touches.

Crows forwards Lachlan Gollant, Ned McHenry and Josh Smithson each booted three goals.

Sturt is all but consigned to starting its major round campaign in the Qualifying Final as a result of the loss as it must rely on Glenelg losing to South, Adelaide losing to Norwood and making up 7 per cent on the Tigers with a win against North at Prospect in Round 18.

Double Blues captain James Battersby racked up 31 disposals, 10 marks and seven clearances while Tom Lewis also thrived in the muddy conditions with 27 disposals as defender Will Coomblas impressed with 13 marks and 22 possessions.

Sturt forwards Lachlan Burrows and Josh Hone kicked three goals each but were unable to keep their side in front when it mattered most.

Woodville-West Torrens ensured Glenelg must wait a week to snare the minor premiership with a spirited 22-point win at Maughan Thiem Kia Oval.

Displaying incredible efficiency with element of each in hitting the scoreboard, the Eagles showed plenty of promise for any prospective coach willing to fill the shoes of departing premiership mentor Jade Sheedy.

Despite conceding six goals in the second quarter, the hosts were able to regain the lead nine minutes into the third quarter despite registering 12 fewer inside 50 entries for the match.

Restricting the Tigers – who were without triple Ken Farmer Medallist Liam McBean and first choice ruck Cam McGree – to just two goals in the second half, the Eagles were led by impressive James Rowe with 33 disposals, six clearances, seven tackles and two goals.

Eagles captain Joseph Sinor collected 27 disposals while fellow midfielder Adam D’Aloia had 22 disposals and Jimmy Toumpas 21.

Damaging left-footer Will Pearce booted four goals for the Eagles and clever goalsneak Max Beattie kicked three while goal of the day came from Kade Herbert, who finished an eye-catching run on the grandstand wing with a fine finish from 40m.

The Bays’ patchy form will no doubt be assessed internally during the week as Corey Lyons was again the chief midfielder to lead his team’s charge with 31 disposals, 10 clearances and six marks.

Fellow Tigers Billy Stretch and Luke Partington had 23 and 22 disposals each while James Bell continued his encouraging form with 20 touches and seven clearances.

Bays forward Lachie Hosie has all but sealed the Ken Farmer Medal after he reached the 50-goal mark with a haul of five majors while nuggety forward Hugh Stagg kicked three goals in his first League appearance for the season.

South Adelaide ensured Port Adelaide will have to win its final minor round match to play in September after a pulsating draw at Flinders University Stadium.

As the Panthers farewelled retiring former Power defender Matt Broadbent, the Magpies will be disappointed they missed their opportunity to seal a berth in the finals.

Port must now defeat Central at X Convenience Oval in Round 18 or lose and rely on Sturt defeating North Adelaide at Prospect to secure a place in the Elimination Final.

A sensational six-goal third quarter propelled Tyson Goldsack’s charges back into the contest after they trailed by as much as 41 points nearly 12 minutes into the third quarter.

Port racked up 11 more inside 50s for the match as Trent Dumont (25 disposals, seven tackles), Riley Bonner (24 disposals) and Quinton Narkle (23 disposals, one goal) were the prime movers in the midfield.

Classy small forward Francis Evans booted three match-turning goals in the third term blitz while Orazio Fantasia (four goals) and Jed Hagan (two goals) also hit the scoreboard.

South had opportunities to hit the front deep into time-on of the last term as Joseph Haines narrowly missed a shot on the run from 50m while Kobe Mutch’s set shot from 30m on a slight angle only registered a behind.

Mutch did plenty of grunt work to put his side in a position to win after collecting 30 disposals and nine clearances while Mitch O’Neill (28 disposals) and Haines (23 disposals) also found plenty of the ball.

Fitt, Damon Freitag and Ben Shillabeer each kicked three goals for the accurate Panthers, who tallied 15.7 (97) compared to Port’s 14.13 (97).

West Adelaide missed its opportunity to avoid the wooden spoon but it didn’t lose any admirers with its desperate charge to secure a draw against Norwood at Hisense Stadium.

Needing to win its final two matches and rely on the Legs to lose their last two, the Bloods came from 35 points down early in the third term to pile on 8.6 in the second half.

Inaccuracy prevented Adam Hartlett’s outfit from applying meaningful scoreboard pressure in the first half as they went to the main break with 2.10 (22) to their name.

The Bloods had seven more inside 50 entries for the match as they had as many as nine players hit the scoreboard while having five more scoring shots in the 10.16 (76) to 11.10 (76) result.

West’s Owen Mulady snapped a goal from 15m to tie up the scores in the 23rd minute of the final term before teammate Luke Redfern’s behind cancelled out a point from Redleg Jayden Gale to ensure the sides couldn’t be separated.

West’s Tom Morrish earned a game-high 30 disposals and seven tackles, while Kobe Ryan continued his impressive first senior season with 24 disposals and a bullocking goal from just inside 50m.

West’s Callum Park and Joel Stevens both collected 23 disposals and a goal on the run each while Redfern was the Bloods’ only multiple goal scorer with two.

Norwood gained significant contributions from experienced quartet Nik Rokahr (29 disposals), Matt Nunn (26 disposals), Jacob Kennerley (26 disposals) and Matthew Panos (24 disposals, two goals).

Redleg Goy Lok bagged three goals including an impressive snap from the boundary line while Jackson Callow booted a pair of majors.