ROUND 5 of the SANFL season saw a number of Power players performing at both senior league and reserves level.

This week, South Adelaide had the bye, while Sunday was a bumper day for local footy, with three games on at the same time - the previously undefeated West Adelaide were well beaten by the Magpies at Alberton, Norwood went down to the Eagles, and Central District returned to form by crushing Glenelg. The Saturday afternoon match saw Sturt defeat North Adelaide in a 12 point thriller at Commander Centre Oval.

All games were watched closely by development manager Daniel Healy and development coach Matthew Nicks. Their full report is below, but make sure you watch the video report to see some highlights footage of Danyle Pearce, the ‘Player of the Week’ this week.

SANFL Player of the Week
Danyle Pearce (for Double Blues vs Roosters)
Danyle really stood up this week - his tackling went up a number of levels and his hard-ball gets and his hard running was a stand-out and something that we’ve been looking for from him. It was great to see him have a little bit more confidence in his football and enjoying playing the game which is going to be a real key to him getting back into the Power side.

Marlon Motlop (for Bloods reserves vs Magpies)
This was Marlon’s first game for his new club after his transfer from North Adelaide was completed. He was prolific in his ball-winning ability, earning in excess of 25 possessions. Something that we’ll continue to challenge Marlon with is his ability to run and carry the ball and make more of his possessions. Defensively he was pretty good, and this was a pleasing first-up effort for him with his new club.

Ben Newton (for Bloods reserves vs Magpies)
This is a really exciting development, with Ben playing his first game after overcoming a nasty ankle injury that he had when he came to the club. He played just over a half of game time and had around about 10 possessions and got through it really well, showing us glimpses of some of the things that we’re looking forward to seeing from him going forward.

John Butcher (for Magpies vs Panthers)
John continues his pretty steady form - he only had 8 possessions but he kicked 3 goals 1 and his goalkicking has become a feature of his game after spending a lot of time working on it over the preseason. He was a focal point for the Magpies in their win and he continues to show the development that is pleasing for all fans to see.

Ben Jacobs (for Magpies vs Bloods)
Ben Jacobs debuted for the league side which is really exciting for him - he had 22 possessions and whilst he was a bit rusty with some of his ball use he was prominent again in terms of being able to find the footy - he had 7 inside 50s and he’s shown that he has the ability to step straight up a level from the SANFL reserves and have an immediate impact, which will hold him in good stead over the next few weeks.

Matt Lobbe (for Bloods vs Magpies)
Coming up against two experienced campaigners in Magpies skipper John Mieklejohn and Crows-listed ruckman Ivan Maric was always going to be tough for Matt with limited game time and preparation under his belt due to injury. He’s only played the one reserves game before jumping straight into the SANFL seniors, and found the going pretty tough but battled manfully. He had 7 possessions.

Jason Davenport (for Bloods vs Magpies)
Dav had a steady day and kicked 2 goals 1 from 18 possessions. He had a few more chances that he could have made more of, and could have had an even better day but he was very lively around the ball and was an important player for Wests when they were making a charge at the game.

Daniel Webb (for Bloods vs Magpies)
Webby played up forward and kicked one goal, taking 5 marks and picking up 6 possessions. Again, as he often does, he showed some real class at times, but the obvious focus for him from a developmental perspective is to work on his consistency to be involved in the game more.

Steve Salopek (for Tigers vs Bulldogs)
Sal played on a wing and half-forward and whilst he only picked up 13 possessions in a side that was well beaten on the day he ran really hard and worked really hard. He’s continuing to work on the defensive aspects of his game, in particular his tackling ability, and also winning more contested football.

Matt Westhoff (for Bulldogs vs Tigers)
Matt played for Centrals in a side that was an easy winner on the day but was cruelled by injury as well. He had a lot of game time and played up the ground on a wing and even at stages in the ruck rather than his customary position in the forward line. He picked up 15 possessions, took 5 marks and kicked a goal in a pleasing result for his team.

Mitch Curnow (for Roosters reserves vs Double Blues)
He rucked and found the going pretty tough, picking up 6 possessions and won a few of the ruck battles, and will continue to work on his positioning around the ground so as to be involved in the play.

Aaron Young (for Roosters reserves vs Double Blues)
It was a quieter day for Aaron in comparison with what he’s been producing in recent weeks. He had 10 or so possessions and played mainly forward as well as a bit down back but it wasn’t as good a performance from Aaron as he’s produced in the past couple of weeks, but he’ll continue to work on his consistency from game to game as the season progresses and work on his running to get to more and more contests.

Andrew Moore (for Roosters vs Double Blues)
This was Moore’s first league game for the year and played on-ball, picking up around 10 possessions for the game and was probably a little bit quiet - he’d be looking for some more football and getting his hands on it more often. He’s very classy when he does get it and an extremely smart footballer, and he just needs to lift his workrate and run harder to get to more contests.

Jarrad Irons (for Eagles reserves vs Redlegs)
Jarrad played on-ball and then moved to the wing for a side who were convincingly defeated by Norwood, which made it tough for him. He had 16 possessions, and the best thing is that they were quality possessions - he shows that he’s got real talent when he does win the football. We’re definitely looking for a lot more workrate from him, and if he can get that up then he’s going to be involved in the game more and we’ll see his strength and class come to the fore.

Tom Jonas (for Redlegs vs Eagles)
Tom played both half-back and deep in the defensive pocket, and was solid without being spectacular. He did a good job defensively having only the one goal kicked by his direct opponent whilst playing in a losing side, and now needs to make sure that he’s involving himself in the game more.

Simon Phillips (for Redlegs vs Eagles)
Flipper played his second game back after a broken jaw, and showed some really good signs - he goes in for the hard ball and really uses his pace. He didn’t get a lot of the football in the first three-quarters but then went to a wing in the last quarter and picked up 7 possessions and got himself involved. He’ll be more than keen to get another game under his belt; unfortunately Norwood have the bye this week but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Simon pushing for senior selection with the Power in the near future.

Previous SANFL Reports:
SANFL Wrap - Round 4
SANFL Wrap - Round 3
SANFL Wrap - Round 2
SANFL Wrap - Round 1