ROUND 1
Saturday 31st of March.

GLENELG 4.3 5.6 9.10 13.11 (89)
STURT 3.3 8.9 9.11 10.13 (73)

Cornes comes of age for Bays.

By Paul Kermode.
Glenelg has shown it will no longer be the SANFL's whipping boy, with a courageous 16-point come-from-behind victory over Sturt at Glenelg Oval yesterday.
Inspired by a brilliant performance by Kane Cornes, the new-look Tigers outfit - boasting six players not in the side last year - overcame a 21-point half-time deficit to storm over the top of the Double Blues.
Glenelg kicked eight goals to two after the main break, with Cornes sealing the deal with three majors in the last term.
The skilled and beautifully balanced 18-year-old has shown tantalising glimpes of his great potential - for the Tigers last year, the state unfers 18 side and the Power this pre-season.
But yesterday's game was the fulfilment of all he has promised as a player. Starting in defence, before moving onto a wing and then into the centre square, Cornes grabbed 29 possessions and his nine-kick, three-goal last quarter - when the game was in the balance - was top class for any player in the competition and astonishing for a player of his years.
"Since he's been drafted, just his fitness has improved and he's a very focused young man - he's taken his game to another level," debutant coach Brenton Honor said.
"He was outstanding."
Glenelg's barnstorming finish was a far cry from the second quarter when midfielders Bruce Lennon and Tim Weatherald drove the Blues to a handy half-time advantage.
Sturt, after kicking the last 5 goals of the second term, went into the half-time break full of confidence and with the momentum.
But Honor tightened up on the Sturt midfield - simon Hele and a concussed damian Raidis holding Lennon and Weatherald to 11 second-half possessions between them after almost 40 before the break - and threw Crows recruit Laurence Angwin into the ruck.
The moves paid dividends as Glenelg got on top in the square and around the ground, and gave Sturt no room to move.
The manner of the victory, in the squad's first real game togethor suprised even Honor, who believes the squad will only get better.
"That was a real gutsy courageous win that I though we wouldn't be capable of yet. It is a new coach, a new game plan, a lot of new players and it normally takes a while to get a team spirit and feeling. For that to happen in game one is terrific'" he said.
Sturt coach Phil carman lamented the fact that Sturt could not continue its good first half form, saying no player in the team could claim to have put in a four quarter effort.
The Double Blues are yet to win a first round game under carman, but he is determined not to let a first round loss turn into an early-season skid like last year.
carman said Sturt had to learn to come out in the third quarter as aggressively as it did at the start of the game.
"I thought that everyone was reasonably confident at half-time. But, as has been the case in the past, for some reason or other we get into the rooms and get a false sense of security and relax rather than keep up the intensity that we finished the second quarter off," he said.

BEST PLAYERS: Cornes, Sherwood, Bode, Angwin, D.Raidis, Stephens, Mellody..
SCORERS: K.Cornes 3.0, Golding 2.0, D.Raidis, Smyth, Harwood 1.1, M.raidis, hele, Higgins, Sherwood, Angwin 1.0, Cook, Bode 0.2, Hams 0.1, rushed 0.3.
INJURIES: D. Raidis (concussion).
CROWD: 4000.