Round 7 Review - Chris Kendall

Courtesy SANFL and Sportsbeat



SANFL News
16 May 2014
2014 SANFL ROUND SEVEN PREVIEWS

By Chris Kendall

Norwood v Adelaide (Coopers Stadium) – Friday 7.40pm

FIRST MEETING

Two teams on the wrong end of the ledger last week, with neither ever really being in the hunt for most of the match. It is already apparent this will be a rebuilding year for Norwood, after four dominant seasons, as player departures start to take their toll. Adelaide are still working through the nuances of their game plan and structure, but are allowing teams to build big leads too often and are not able to reel them in sufficiently. Many of the younger players are really benefitting from the development opportunities but are still finding it hard to play consistent, cohesive football for long periods.

While home ground normally has been a fortress over the past few years for Norwood, it is by no means a certainty here. A number of their higher possession getters of late have been in the back half, indicating how long the ball is spending back there, and how long they also are taking to extract it from that region. It is also taking time to build the game time and confidence into the younger, newer players and get them fully adjusted to league football under a new coach. On the other hand, it is many of Adelaide’s younger players that are leading the way, which places the impetus on more of the older heads to step up. The Redlegs should still be in the box seat here, however.

RADIO: 5RPH
TIP: Norwood 25-36


Woodville-West Torrens v North Adelaide (Maughan Thiem Hyundai Oval) – Saturday 2.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD: W/WT 43, NA 20
LAST THREE ENCOUNTERS:
2013: 1st SF: NA 15.10 (100) d W/WT 12.11 (83)
2013: Rnd 20 W/WT 17.12 (114) d NA 9.10 (64)
2013: Rnd 14 W/WT 10.12 (72) d NA 10.10 (70)

The Eagles are starting to unleash at the right time, with a strong opening against Glenelg strangling the contest early and allowing them to dictate the remainder on their terms. If Michael Wundke had his radar fully on (5.6), it could have been a real mess, although fellow recruit James Boyd also relished the latitude to rack up 27 disposals, sharing that figure with Luke Powell. North Adelaide may look back at season’s end at a lost opportunity for a double chance after coughing up a 17-point last quarter lead to lose to Central District by 7 points. Some bad lapses in discipline were among the catalysts, with some unnecessary free kicks and 25 metre penalties really hurting their flow, conceding the last four goals in falling to a team that was four places below them.

One factor that would be pleasing Eagles coach Michael Godden would be the mix between the youngsters and veterans blending to form a potent mix as the business end of the season looms. The attack is also starting to meld into a potent unit with the twin towers of Wundke and Andrew Ainger being very hard to stop. This will create a good test for the Roosters defence, where Will Dalwood works well with the smaller rebounding defenders such as Joe Anderson and Matthew Campbell. They do look better with Todd Miles back marshalling the troops, but he has found himself in ruck more of late, which should allow James Craig to drift forward more often. The medium-sized North forwards have been solid this season, with Cohen Thiele landing three goals last week, but they still need more consistency from the talls outside of Luke Mitchell. In what looms as an entertaining shootout, the Eagles should just prevail.

RADIO: Life FM
TIP: Woodville-West Torrens 13-24


Glenelg v Central (Gliderol Stadium) – Saturday 2.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD: GL 52, CD 65, Drawn 1
LAST THREE ENCOUNTERS:
2013: Rnd 22 CD 22.10 (142) d Gl 12.7 (79)
2013: Rnd 4 Gl 12.12 (84) d CD 10.14 (74)
2012: Rnd 18 CD 15.19 (109) d Gl 11.9 (75)

A season of initial promise is really starting to slip right away for Glenelg, who appear to be struggling to run out the full 100 minutes at present. While they are finding key moments from key players along the journey, rarely are they all at the same time, condemning the Tigers to another frustrating season unless they can turn it around rapidly. After some false starts, the Bulldogs have had some much better moments of late, and their last-quarter charge against North brought dividends as they slammed home the last four goals to take the points. The way they spread and broke the lines through most of the day was impressive, but the belief coursing through the players in that last term was more reminiscent of what we have come to expect from Elizabeth over the years.

Glenelg has seemed hesitant at times to take the game on with pace, and should try some different things along the journey as they are looking a little predictable at times. With the likes of Ruory Kirkby and Mitch Thorp in attack, the mobility and ability to find the goals is certainly up there, but with some bigger Central defenders such as Murray Stephenson and Tom Collier to contend with, they may need to go a little smaller this week to find the right mix. The Bulldogs were able to burst through centre impressively last week and find space on the counter-attack from opposition turnovers, and if allowed the space to move freely again, they may prove very hard to stop. Glenelg will also need to monitor the match-up on Bryce Retzlaff carefully, as he is able to push up the ground to create space for smaller forwards to work. In a tough one to pick, will just lean toward Central in a scrap.

RADIO: 5RPH
TIP: Central District 13-24


Port Magpies v South Adelaide (Alberton Oval) – Saturday 2.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD: Port 183, SA 50, Drawn 2
LAST THREE ENCOUNTERS:
2013: Rnd 20 Port 5.8 (38) d SA 4.5 (29)
2013: Rnd 10 Port 19.11 (125) d SA 9.8 (62)
2012: Rnd 11 Port 18.11 (119) d SA 12.6 (78)

The Port juggernaut simply steamrolled over a Sturt group that did not play poor football last week. It was simply a matter of different preparations and in some ways, resources, plus a very precise and direct style of football that is hard to break down for long periods. The pleasing sign is the likes of Anthony Biemans and Angus Bruggemann playing strong football to complement their AFL- listed teammates. South’s season rolled on with a workmanlike win over Norwood that again highlighted how even their list is this year. The likes of Brent Macleod and John McDonald really complement the more established stars of the team, and to be able to kick 13 goals with only two from star forward Brett Eddy highlights the spread of talent in attack.

As seen last week, however, as the season moves on, it will be more difficult for other teams to keep up with Port, provided the AFL team does not suffer sustained injuries. The last halves in particular have been noted for Port putting the foot down and running harder to space and getting the ball quickly into attach as opponents tire. The younger Port players, such as Jake Neade, Daniel Flynn and Ben Haren are really benefitting from having more experience around them and their own games are developing strongly. In some ways, this will be a great test for South on many levels, not only to see how far they have progressed but also to see the work required to go to the next level with their own game. Port look to be packing far too many guns here.

TV: Channel Seven
TIP: Port 49-60


Sturt v West Adelaide (Envestra Park) – Sunday 2.10pm

HEAD TO HEAD: St 127 WA 107, Drawn 1
LAST THREE ENCOUNTERS:
2013: Rnd 18 WA 10.17 (77) d St 2.9 (21)
2013: Rnd 8 WA 12.10 (82) d St 11.9 (75)
2012: Rnd 15 WA 19.9 (123) d St 7.13 (55)

No real surprise to see Sturt’s run of form come to an end against a rampant Port Magpies last week, with the difference in preparation and resources between the teams being very apparent. A sickening broken jaw for Jack Stephens, one of their shining lights this year, capped a bad day for the Double Blues, but they will learn plenty from the experience. West may have turned the corner from their slow start to 2014 with consecutive wins over Central and Adelaide, with confidence starting to lift among the playing group and a more cohesive style flowing through their game play.

While the natural temptation is to simply pick Sturt at home, there has been a lot to like about West’s wins, particularly their hard running to space and quick movement into a more open forward line. Despite no majors to Mason Middleton and Michael Still last week, their smaller forwards bobbed up to take the slack. Sturt’s defence can adapt to a smaller opposition attack, however, so the crucial battles through the midfield will decide much of this game. If Angus Kurtze can get first tap over his Bloods counterparts in Peter Nelson and Daniel Webb, then that should give Sturt first use at the clearances and first opportunity into attack, although they also need to be wary of being too reliant on their half forward line bombing long goals. This should be a close one, but will just lean to West to continue their improvement.

RADIO: 5RPH
Tip: West Adelaide 1-12