Woodville struck a fell blow to Onkaparinga’s finals hopes while top three trio Brighton, Burnside and Southern Suburbs continued their winning ways away from home in a jam-packed Round 11.
In the weekend’s livestreamed fixture, Wasps overcame a red card to produce some of their toughest footy this season and topple Onkas 15-12 at Gleneagles Reserve.
It took 30 minutes for either side to trouble the scorers in muddy conditions with Kiall Whitcher booting a penalty kick before Owen Potter finally crossed from a rolling maul on the stroke of halftime.
Onkas were first to strike in the second stanza with prop Jack Robins burrowing over from close range, Troy Wilkins’ conversion cutting the margin to 8-7 after 45 minutes.
A free-wheeling Alex Fisher then put his side ahead in the 52nd minute, finishing off a lovely backline move in the far left corner to post a 12-7 lead.
Handling errors plagued both sides but it was Onkas paid the price midway through the half, coughing up ball inside their 22 to gift Semesa Vuata a five-pointer duly converted by Lindsay Adcock.
Three points adrift, Onkas had multiple opportunities to square the ledger in the final stages with a missed 74th minute penalty and two turnovers ultimately handing Woodville the win at home.
The result marked Onkas’ seventh loss of the year with the Devils now needing at least four wins from their five remaining fixtures to potentially feature in finals.
In Saturday’s other Premier Grade fixtures, Brighton posted a strong 51-7 away win over Elizabeth, Souths ran in ten tries at Riverside Oval to defeat Port Adelaide 62-10, and doubles to Keanu Eliepa and Jordan Cetta helped Burnside roll Adelaide University 48-5.
Meanwhile Brighton posted a 12th consecutive Reserve Grade win to kick 11 points clear atop their ladder with Old Collegians bagging an important 36-8 away win over Barossa.
In the women’s competition, Adelaide Uni secured a vital bonus-point victory over Burnside with Old Colls, Souths and Wasps also picking up wins.
