Both teams played the match with squads of around 35 players so a lot of good players only had a half but its fair to say that in the first half the SANFL U/18s showed the difference between Amateur and those aspiring to be professional. It was also obvious that they all had been working together for a while and knew each others names and games.
They were dominant in the first half with their run, support and clean skills. Second half was a lot more even....
SANFL Eye catchers.
Tom Sandercock - Big mobile lean lad who played a bit of Ruck, CHB and FB. Good hands and a good engine.
Ben Kennedy - Looks likely with a great vertical leap.
E man - as already mentioned
Rory Laird - moved well and slotted some goals
Cam Ellis-Yolmen - deserves a mention for his intent and focus on the ball. Got a serious whack and just kept going without letting it in any way break his concentration for the pill
To be honest in the first half the 18 SANFL boys on the field had full control of the game
SAAFL
Stevey Ray Clay gave the SAAFL a spark when he came on in the 3rd quarter and kicked a couple of goals as well as unselfishly setting a couple up. Helped the SAAfl win the second half
Tom Bateman - Competed hard and really came into the game in the 2nd half
Nick "THE SITUATION" Jolly - was the only effective fwd option in the first half and competed hard all over the ground
Brad Robertson - gave plenty of bite around the packs
It was only a trial so it wasnt as easy to do best players when there is about 70 blokes involved in the game. GOOD LUCK TO BOTH TEAMS AT THEIR NATIONAL TITLES LATER IN THE YEAR
