SOUTH Australian football is on top once again with the Under 18s side coming up trumps against Vic Metro to claim the 2018 National Championships title. Meanwhile, the Under 16s and 17s played out a match in preparation of the Under 16 National Championships, and there was not too much to write home about from the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) with limited fixtures.

Under 18’s:

It has been a huge week for the SA lads, securing victory over the Allies and then taking the title by defeating Vic Metro in the ‘grand final’ fixture.

There were plenty of positives all round for the SA side, and some absolute stand-out performances over the carnival by some of SA’s key players. Izak Rankine’s championships simply made the chase for him in the draft even higher, while other leaders in Jack Lukosius and Luke Valente were standouts for the SA team in all games, with Valente awarded SA’s Most Valuable Player.

This was the first win for the SA side since 2014, and with the depth of talent it would have been disappointing to not come away with the title in hindsight.

Scores:

SA 17.14 (116) defeated Vic Metro 9.7 (61)

SA 13.12 (90) defeated Allies 9.12 (66)

SA Under 17 Academy vs. SA Under 16s:

The next batch of SA talent was on full display in a match to help the SA Under 16s in their preparations for the upcoming championships.

SA U17:  3.5  5.9  9.11  12.15 (87)

SA U16:  2.1  3.2  4.3  4.3 (27)

BEST:

SA U17: Cameron Taheny, Jed McEntee, Dyson Hilder, Jordan O’Brien, Trent Burgoyne, Josh Shute, Brady Searle.
SA U16: Jye Sinderberry, Jason Horne, Jamison Murphy, Kye Dean, Will Schreiber, Zac Dumesny.

GOALS:

SA U17: Cameron Taheny 4, Daniel Sladojevic, Jason Westley, Karl Finlay 2, Trent Burgoyne, Rhys Cannizzaro, Kysiah Pickett.
SA U16: Isiah Dudley, Cooper Horsnell, Ethan Schwerdt, James Borlas

It was an easy victory to the SA U17 Academy lads with Rostrevor and Norwood star Cameron Taheny easily best on ground in an impressive display. Others who had shown some good SANFL form also stepped up with Eagles’ Trent Burgoyne and also Glenelg’s Brady Searle both solid. A future prospect who had some good form for West Adelaide earlier this year for the U16s was Jye Sindeberry, who has shown some impressive marking.

The South Australian Under 16s side will move on to the Championship matches against Victoria Country (July 9) and Victoria Metro (July 13), both in Queensland.

SANFL Wrap:       

With a split round and all Under 18s talent away at National Championships, it was a quieter week in the SANFL, with no school footy on for a few weeks as well.

League

Sturt dominated the Adelaide Crows in a 72-point thrashing. Ex-AFL listed Rory Taggert put in a strong performance for the Blues with a five-goal haul continuing his great form. Ball magnet James Battersby clocked up 39 disposals, while Margarey Medalist Zane Kirkwood had 33. Adelaide Crows midfielder Patrick Wilson was best in the losing side.

Port went down to Norwood in a tough clash by 28 points, and despite the efforts of AFL players Jake Neade, Karl Amon and Jack Watts, Norwood were too good. Matt Panos for the Redlegs is no doubt attracting AFL interest as an experienced midfield recruit, again being Norwood’s best with 31 disposals. His season has been exceptional on all levels.

Reserves

In the only game played in the Reserves, Norwood flew out of the blocks and dominated Port, winning by 71 points. Norwood forwards Harrison Viney and Joe Beilby kicked six goals each, while Port’s best were Harry Morgan and Michael Ortiz.