South Australia’s Under-18 team is today chasing its first AFL National Championship title.
Unbeaten SA will clinch the title if it defeats Western Australia at Etihad Stadium this afternoon after securing wins over Vic Metro, Vic Country, NSW/ACT and Queensland in previous rounds.
SA has not won a title in this age group since the current format was introduced in 1996, although the Croweaters won the last Teal Cup (under-17) competition in 1995.
‘’It’s always good to control what you can control,’’ coach Brenton Phillips told sanfl.com.au
‘’And that’s what we are about this week. We need to make sure we do everything right, prepare properly and make sure we focus on winning the game.’’
Several South Australian players are in line for All Australian selection and have firmed as round one draft candidates. Norwood’s James Aish has been rated as a certain top five pick for some time, Matt Scharenberg (Glenelg) has starred throughout the championships and captain Luke Dunstan (Eagles) has also been outstanding in the midfield.
Should WA beat SA and Victoria Metro defeat Victoria Country in the second game of today’s double-header, then three sides – SA, WA and Victoria Metro - will be locked on two wins each.
In this instance, the team with the greatest percentage will be declared the overall champion.