League Round 16 v Glenelg
Sturt 14.17 (101) Glenelg 7.10 (52)
Marty Mattner
Head Coach
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Reserves Round 16 v Glenelg
Sturt 20.14 (134) Glenelg 5.6 (36)
The Ressies boys took to the field this week full of confidence on the back of 4 wins in a row and looking to jump a couple of sides into the Top 5 for the first time this year. We were also able to take a reasonably settled line up into the game with minimal changes which helps when playing good footy.
The first quarter continued our recent form with good starts taking a 22 point lead into the first break, which could have been more if it wasn’t for inaccurate kicking. The guys were moving the footy well but more importantly were making it extremely difficult for Glenelg to score as our defensive set-ups were impressive. We kicked another 3 goals to 1 in the second quarter to take a 37 point lead into half time.
The boys were very keen to make this a 4 quarter performance and were asked to keep their foot on the pedal to try and gain some valuable percentage in the tight race for the top 5 and they were able to do this with a commanding 5 goal to 0 third term displaying ruthless pressure at the ball carrier and some fantastic offensive ball movement forward.
The guys were encouraged to really run the game out in the final quarter and to try and blow it wide open while restricting Glenelg and they did so with a brilliant final term with 8 goals to 3.
Best Players:
- James Moriarty – continued his fine season with a solid performance at half back. Finishing with 22 possessions, 8 marks and limiting his opponent to very little.
- Jake Veale – was again impressive, providing us with drive and classy ball use amassing 26 possessions.
- Jordan Houlahan – continues to improve and get more involved in the game finishing with a game high 5 goals.
- Adam Trenorden – was super creative and composed at half forward setting up numerous attacks.
- Dwayne Wilson – Gave us great drive off of half back and his ball use was impressive all day.
Houlahan 5, Penfold 4, Samblich, Wildman 2, Applebee, Coomblas, Crowden, Trenorden, Thiele, Veale, Hayden 1.
A super pleasing effort which meant we leapfrogged South Adelaide and West Adelaide in the top 5 and currently sit in 4th position. We will look to continue our recent good form and consolidate our finals position against a hungry South Adelaide side this week. Hope to see a big crowd for our last home game.
Gianni Petrucci
Reserves Coach
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Under 18’s Round 16 v Glenelg
Sturt 11.9 (75) Glenelg 13.7 (85)
Round 16 of the U18’s Torrens University Cup saw us take on Glenelg as the first match of a triple-header prior to the League and Reserves. It was another great opportunity for the under age players to get a taste of the SANFL League football match day experience.
In a perfect day for football the sun was out and the oval was looking a treat after the bye round. Unfortunately for the home side Glenelg got off to a flyer kicking the first 4 goals without an answer from Sturt. In a pleasing sign the Double Blues were able to wrestle back some momentum and finish the quarter a respectable 13 points down. The second quarter was Sturt’s best where they were able to move the ball effectively and have some good forward entries. They won the quarter by 16 points to go into the main break with a 3-point lead. The game continued in a seesaw manner for much of the second half leading to an exciting finish where Sturt were peppering the goals to no avail. Unfortunately the Sturt forwards hit the post on 3 scoring attempts in the last quarter and with the Bays kicking a goal directly on the final siren the margin finished in Glenelg’s favour by 10 points.
Best player for Sturt was State U16 player Oliver Grivell in only his second outing for the U18s. He was impressive in his defensive role and led the way with 3 strong spoils, 4 tackles and 2 rebound 50s. Mt Barker product Ryan Weidenhofer was second best for the home side collecting 26 disposals and 6 rebound 50s. AFL Academy member Hugo Munn was third best with another commanding performance in a key forward post. He led up strongly and was good defensively with 5 tackles. He also hit the scoreboard with 2.1 and 1 score assist. Rory Illman was back after missing with an ankle injury against West Adelaide to perform strongly as a midfielder. He had a game high 13 tackles as well as collecting 29 disposals. His 6 clearances were important and he also impacted the scoreboard kicking 1.2. Mt Lofty utility Tom Welsby showed his versatility by starting as a defender and then playing well as a forward when Sturt lost 2 players to injury. He had 16 disposals and was named fifth best. Wingman Tom Worthley ran hard all day for 14 disposals and 2 score assists to be named sixth best.
Sturt continue to hold on to 3rd position on the Torrens University Cup ladder and look forward to taking on the second placed South Adelaide at Hickinbotham Oval this weekend.
Chris Trapp
High Performance Manager