The gritty midfielder/defender has been in and out of the Power’s team, but once again put his hand up for selection with a 31 possession game for Norwood at Elizabeth. Playing on the wing, Lower wasn’t able to have as much of an impact at stoppages, but made up for it with some creative ball use and some desperate footy. He held off strong competition once again from Matthew Broadbent, who kept the Magpies’ Jeremy Clayton quiet while creating some attack himself.
The award is judged by Power development coaches, Darren Trevena and Stuart Cochrane, and is announced exclusively at PortAdelaideFC.com.au each week.
It will be a tough side to break into this week after a good win against the Lions, but the 12 Power players in action in the SANFL on the weekend all worked their hardest to push for a spot. The full wrap is below.
Cibo Glenelg SANFL Player of the Week
Nick Lower (for Norwood v Central @ Elizabeth) – Another tough, in and under game from Nick, winning a heap of the ball in a new position for him – the wing. He had some really good hard ball gets and had some really gutsy efforts, running back with the flight and taking some good grabs. He used the ball reasonably well and worked hard all day ending up with 15 kicks, 16 handballs and 10 marks.
Matthew Westhoff (for Central v Norwood @ Elizabeth) – Westy had a good day with 13 kicks, 8 marks, 2 handballs, 3 goals and 7 tackles. His forward pressure was excellent and he provided a good target for the Dogs leading up the ground. He fumbled a bit early, but he showed great character to work his way back into the game.
Johnathon Giles (for Central v Norwood @ Elizabeth) – Joff played in the ruck and actually rested up forward this week, sneaking a couple of goals after some good lead up marks. He was in and out of the game and was probably more effective when he was playing forward. Still had some nice ruck work.
Matthew Lobbe (for West v Sturt @ Waikerie) – Matty played the lead ruck again for Westies but unfortunately had a quieter game. He did some nice work when he pushed forward and again his work rate was reasonably good, but he’ll be looking to bounce back next week. 5 kicks, 3 marks, 4 handballs and 15 hitouts.
Michael Pettigrew (for West v Sturt @ Waikerie) – Pettigrew’s first game back at West for quite some time and he had a solid game playing across half back. He provided some great run and link work early on and his spoiling was a feature. He was moved onto Chambers after he started with 4 or 5 goals in the first half and managed to restrict him to just 2 goals, even running off him at times. Finished with 14 kicks, 5 marks, 5 handballs and 6 spoils.
Mitch Banner (for Eagles v Port @ Woodville) – A quieter day for Mitch, who wasn’t able to win quite as much of the ball as he has done. His trademark is his pressure at stoppages and he again provided plenty of that, chasing and tackling well, finishing with 5 tackles.
Nick Salter (for Eagles v Port @ Woodville) – Salts looked sharp once again, this time playing the second or third string forward with Burton and Passador back, and also had a stint at full back when McGregor went down. Had he been able to kick straighter, it could have been a much better day, finishing with 3.3. Still a solid game from Salts.
Matthew Broadbent (for Eagles v Port @ Woodville) – After not playing for two weeks (bye and then travelling emergency), Broady came back with another good game. He got moved onto Jeremy Clayton after Clayton had a big first quarter and managed to negate his influence on the game and also managed to attack and get a bit of the ball himself. Playing half back and on the ball, he finished with 11 kicks, 8 handballs, 6 marks, 4 tackles and 6 clearances.
Jarrad Redden (for Eagles v Port @ Woodville) – Back in the league for the first time since his injury, playing in the ruck and a bit up forward. He gave a good contest in the ruck against a mature ruckman in Meiklejohn. Didn’t have a lot of the ball with 8 possessions but had some really good hitouts to advantage. He also followed up well at stoppage, getting down and dirty with some tough work.
Mitch Farmer (for South v Glenelg @ the Bay) – Played half back and in the midfield and had an impact straight away when he came on. He tackled and chased hard but he needs to work on his endurance and also winning more of his own ball. Finished with 6 kicks, 5 handballs and an impressive 8 tackles.
Glenn Dawson (for Eagles reserves v Port reserves @ Woodville) – Not the best start to the day for the Cougar, dropping a few marks, but he fought back well and managed to get five shots on goal. He was unusually inaccurate in front of goal, finishing with 2.3 to go with 9 kicks and 7 marks. He led up well and got to dangerous spots inside the forward 50. Quite a promising game from Glenn.
Jesse Laurie (for West reserves v Sturt reserves @ Waikerie) – A bit unlucky not to play league this week, but nonetheless he played another good game. He didn’t provide as much rebound from defence, but was very good defensively, keeping his man quiet. A solid game with 14 possessions and 3 marks.
Past Cibo Glenelg Power SANFL Player of Week Award winners
Round 13 – Matt Lobbe
Round 12 – Matthew Broadbent
Round 11 – Daniel Stewart
Round 10 – Jonathon Giles
Round 9 – Nick Lower
Round 8 – Toby Thurstans
Round 7 – Marlon Motlop
Round 6 – Josh Carr
Round 5 – Jonathon Giles
Round 4 – Marlon Motlop
Round 3 – Nick Lower
Round 2 – Matt Thomas
Round 1 – Nick Lower
