Round 17: Woods v the Pies

Round 17 of the Hills Football League poises to be a huge battle in all grades with the Blackwood Football Club facing the Hahndorf Magpies at the Hahndorf Oval. The A Grade and Senior Colts find themselves in Courier Cup Finals being the sides which finished in positions one and two after Round 9. We preview the A Grade match below which is anticipated to be a huge encounter with both sides sitting in positions one and two on the ladder equal on points.

Previous encounters

In the round 8 match between the sides at U-Install-It Kitchens Oval, the Woods got the jump on the Magpies leading by 18 points at quarter time and were never headed. On that day Ryan Dijksman kicked four goals whilst Michael Minuzzo was awarded best player. Read the full match summary here

Look back further, the last time the Blackwood Football Club defeated the Magpies in an away fixture was in Round 10 of 2013 where a David Benson coached side won by 18 points. On that day Glenn Draper, Lucas Herbert and Steve Jeffery kicked four goals each whilst 2013 Moulden Medalist Paul Elisseou was best on ground with 3 mail medal votes. The full list of results from 2006 shows there has been a total of 27 games with Blackwood leading the head-to-head battle, 16 to 11. Blackwood has won these 16 games by an average of 32 points whilst Hahndorf have won the 11 games by an average of 37 points.

Of the games at Hahndorf Oval since 2006, the results are as follows:

2016: Blackwood 8.2.50 defeated by Hahndorf 15.12.105

2015: Blackwood 8.8.56 defeated by Hahndorf 11.14.80

2014: Blackwood 6.6.42 defeated by Hahndorf 18.20.128

2013: Blackwood 21.12.138 defeated Hahndorf 18.12.120

2012: Blackwood 9.10.64 defeated by Hahndorf 18.16.124

2011: Blackwood 8.9.57 defeated Hahndorf 7.13.55

2010: Blackwood 13.13.91 defeated Hahndorf 9.8.62

2009: Blackwood 18.13.121 defeated Hahndorf 14.14.98

2008: Blackwood 16.14.110 defeated Hahndorf 14.10.94

2007: Blackwood 21.16.142 defeated Hahndorf 6.8.44

2006: Blackwood 9.15.69 defeated by Hahndorf 9.17.71

Best on Ground Michael Minuzzo looks to move the ball forward

Nick Homburg gets a handball away under immense pressure

2017 statistics

These two sides are the leaders in most of the statistical rankings of the Hills Football League to date. To the end of Round 16, Blackwood average 91 points for per game compared to Hahndorf who average 105 points for per game.

In defence, both sides lead the way with the fewest points conceded per game with Blackwood averaging 58 points against per game whilst Hahndorf average 47 points against per game.

This results in both sides having the best differentials of all nine sides in the competition. Blackwood has a differential of +33 whilst Hahndorf ranks +58 in the fourteen games it has played.

Numbers since Round 8 encounter: Since the sides met back in Round 8, Blackwood has averaged 84 points for and 60 points against. This compares to Hahndorf who have averaged 110 points for and 48 points against.

Quarters won

Blackwood a won 36 of 56 quarters for the season (64%) compared to Hahndorf who have won 46 of 56 quarters played (82%). The best quarters for the Woods has been the first and third quarters winning 79% for the season (11 of 14) whilst Hahndorf have performed best in last quarters winning a remarkable 13 of 14 for the season (93%).

Accuracy

Blackwood currently ranks fifth for goal scoring accuracy in 2017 shooting at 49.7% in front of the big sticks. This compares to Hahndorf who are shooting 52.8% to sit in second position.

Since the Round 8 game between the sides, Blackwood has averaged 25 scoring shots per game at an accuracy of 46.6% whilst Hahndorf has averaged 30 shots per game at 52.6% accuracy.

Woods shooting % (Round 1 to 8)

Woods shooting % (Round 9 to 16)

Key players to watch for Hahndorf

Darcy Hourigan (#2) – The power forward is a key man of the Magpies having kicked 259 goals for the club since the beginning of 2015. He has kicked 31% of all goals for Hahndorf over this period. In 2017 he has kicked on average 5.1 goals per match.

Jay Shannon (#6) – Since moving up to Hahndorf from North Adelaide he has played five matches being in the best players 100% of the time and has kicked eight goals.

David Hankin (#7) – The crafty small forward is one of the best in the Hills Football League. Enjoying success over several seasons, Hankin has kicked 29 goals from 14 games in 2017. He has only been named in the best players on one occasion.

Matt Jaensch (#18)– The former Adelaide Crows player has been a star of the competition since moving back to the club in season 2016. In 2017 he has played 13 matches, kicking 29 goals and being in the best players on 77% of occasions.

Luke Roberts (#21) – The tall forward / ruckman is one of the big three up forward for the Magpies. Along with Hankin and Hourigan he has been involved in 65% of all goals for the Magpies since 2015. In 2017 he has kicked 29 goals from 12 games

Dylan Matsen (#25) – A junior of the Hahndorf club, he missed the Round 8 game as he was travelling overseas. Looking at his 2017 statistics, he has played 8 matches being in the best players on six occasions (75%). This is the third highest percentage of any Hahndorf player this season.