Norwood has claimed the 2024 SANFL Minor Premiership following a powerful 75-point win over Woodville-West Torrens at Woodville Oval on Saturday.
The Redlegs came into the Round 19 clash with a poor recent record against the Eagles, who had won 10 of their last 12 encounters, but ran out dominant 19.8-122 to 6.11-47 winners over the fifth placed hosts.
It was a finals-like first half, with the Eagles playing for their place in the top five before the ladder leaders kicked 14 unanswered goals to transform a three-point lead into a match-high 87 points.
The Redlegs were without leading goal kicker Jackson Callow who missed with a knee injury sustained at training during the week, but Tristan Binder filled the void with a career-high five goals and 11 marks (five contested).
Baynen Lowe kicked three running goals from outside 50m, to go with his 26 touches, while Billy Cootee led all comers on the field with 31 disposals and six clearances.
Mitch O’Neill had 28 disposals, Jack Heard 23 and Matthew Ling 21.
Once again, Norwood started like a house on fire.
In one of the goals of the year, the Redlegs worked the ball from half back through linking handballs and found Thomas Donnelly who took a bounce and unloaded on a huge running goal from outside 50m.
The Full Back’s goal came in the first 40 seconds of the match, before Binder took a big contested mark and goaled three minutes later to give the Redlegs a dream start.
Norwood was lucky down the other end as Jimmy Rowe played on from a free kick 30m out and hit the post, before another narrow miss from Connor Ballenden.
The Redlegs had two further shots that faded in a swirling breeze, but the visitors were well on top.
J. Heard made an unbelievable lunging run down tackle in the Eagles goalsquare to make Sam Nicholls spray a certain goal.
After 15 minutes it was 2.3-15 to 0.3-3 with each side having eight inside 50m entries.
Cootee and O’Neill had seven disposals apiece in the first 15 minutes of the contest.
The Eagles squandered two more golden opportunities to find a first goal, and Norwood made them pay from the kick out. Going end to end and finishing with a Sam Morris dribbling goal to make it 3.3-21 to 0.5-5.
Woodville-West Torrens was enjoying a good patch of form, finding repeated inside 50m entries and eventually its first goal through Lukas Cooke.
The Eagles had back to back majors just before quarter time when Zane Williams snapped from the pocked to make it a four-point Norwood lead, 3.3-21 to 2.5-17.
After Norwood’s early dominance, the Eagles clawed their way back into the contest and the home team led inside 50m +5 and clearance +5, while the visitors led tackles +4, marks +13 and disposal +11.
O’Neill had eight disposals in the first term, while Cootee, Ling and Lowe had seven each.
Norwood started the second quarter strongly, and Binder nailed his second goal from a long set shot to return the visitors to a 10-point lead.
Jack Wheare had two cracks at a set shot and converted the second to bring the margin back to three points.
Binder was having an outstanding first half, and took a third contested mark inside 50m. He went back and nailed his third major. Binder looked too big and strong for every Eagles defender.
Woodville-West Torrens looked dangerous running through the middle of the ground, in what was an entertaining game of footy.
Former Hawk Josh Morris kicked the next goal for the Eagles to continue the goal for goal pattern.
The intensity went up a notch when Jake Cresswell copped a huge hit in the ribs, and with a lot on the line for both sides it felt very much like a finals match.
Harry Boyd took a strong mark at half forward, and handballed it off to a running Lowe who nailed a 50m goal on the run.
Enter Norwood Captain Jacob Kennerley who snapped the goal for goal pattern with two huge set shot goals just before the half time break to give his Redlegs a 22-point buffer.
In almost an instant replay of his previous running goal, Lowe again received the ball outside 50m and nailed a second long range major to make it four goals in 10 minutes.
Norwood’s late onslaught helped the visitors to a 9.4-58 to 4.6-30 at the main break.
The Eagles still led inside 50m +1 with Norwood going inside 50m 20 times for 13 scoring shots, while the home side also led clearances +5.
General play was where Norwood was getting on top, with +8 marks and +25 disposals.
Cootee had 14 disposals, five tackles and four clearances to half time, while Lowe had 13 touches, three clearances and two goals.
Kennerley had 10 disposals and two goals, while Binder had three majors from six marks (three contested).
At half time Norwood maintained its Minor Premiership position by 0.2%, with Sturt leading Adelaide by 19 points at half time in Unley.
The football was pinging all over the ground to start the second half, with both sides making errors in forward transition. It was Norwood that was able to compose itself and find the first goal of the third term through Henry Nelligan.
Nelligan’s goal made it a 34-point margin early in the third term, which quickly became 39. The writing was on the wall when Binder took yet another contested mark at half forward, turned and found Cootee in the corridor who ran to 50m and nailed another long-range goal.
Norwood made it seven straight goals when O’Neill snuck another one through the big sticks, turning a three-point lead at the 14-minute mark of the second term, into a 45-point lead seven minutes into the third.
The Redlegs weren’t done yet, taking it on through the corridor at every opportunity.
Cootee drove the ball long into Izaak Twelftree, who marked in the goalsquare and put the game out past 50 points to all-but lock in top spot.
Goy Lok in his fourth League game of the season, took a strong mark and kicked his first goal to make it five for the term, and nine unanswered Redlegs goals.
Lowe was in a mood to kick goals from outside 50m, launching his third from outside the arc to make it 10 straight.
Norwood finished the term with eight unanswered goals in the third term, with Binder kicking his fourth and Morris converting from deep in the scoreboard pocket.
The three quarter time score was pretty reading for Norwood fans, 17.5-107 to 4.9-33 following 12 consecutive Redlegs goals.
Both sides kicked two apiece in the last term, as the Eagles found their first goal of the second half at the 19-minute mark of the fourth term.
Binder kicked his fifth and Lok his second in a very enjoyable day for the Redlegs.
Norwood have earnt the Bye in the first week of the SANFL Finals and will take on either Sturt or Central District at Adelaide Oval in a Semi Final on Sunday, September 8.
Norwood’s Reserves will also have the first week of finals on the sidelines, after securing the Minor Premiership. The Redlegs went down to the Eagles by 15 points in the Reserves in Round 19.
Leave a Reply