Norwood destroy West Adelaide to claim huge win

Norwood was firing on all cylinders at Hisense Stadium on Saturday afternoon, destroying West Adelaide by 104 points to breathe life into its 2025 SANFL season. 

The Redlegs put together their best defensive effort in 10 years, keeping the Bloods to the low total of 3.7-25, whilst piling on 19.15-129 in a demolition job.

Both sides went into the Round 8 contest with just one win to their names, but this contest was all-but over at quarter time as Norwood nailed 5.5-35 to 0.1-1 in the opening term.

The Redlegs ended up producing their highest scoring half of football since Round 4, 2022, 11.5-75 to 1.3-9 to lead by 66 points at the main break.

The Redlegs had 60 more disposals than West Adelaide in the first half alone (168-108), and did as they pleased, laying six more tackles, taking 24 more marks, winning clearances 24-13 and inside 50m entries 24-13 in an incredible performance.

They didn’t stop there, kicking another eight goals after half time to finish with +104 disposals (327-223), +10 tackles, +59 marks, +3 clearances, +21 inside 50m and +7 hitouts in a hugely one-sided game.

Jackson Callow finished with a career-high six goals (making it 10 from his last two matches), while Tristan Binder kicked four, Declan Hamilton three and Finn Heard three.

The foundation was laid with an outstanding in term, where the Redlegs had 15 of the top 16 ball winners on the ground, and registered 73-48 disposals in a term where the visitors booted five unanswered goals.

It took nine minutes for the first goal to land, but when it did through Izaak Twelftree the floodgates opened, and from there Hamilton, Callow, Billy Cootee and Baynen Lowe chimed in for first quarter majors.

At the first break Norwood led 5.5-35 to 0.1-1.

West Adelaide started the second quarter well, and found a goal through Tom Scully.

Unfortunately for the struggling Bloods it seemed to be Scully and Kobe Ryan or bust, as the Redlegs slammed home the next four goals unanswered to take the margin beyond 50 points half way through the second term.

Again, it took Norwood nearly seven minutes to register its first goal of the second quarter, but when it did the Redlegs slammed home six unanswered to register their best half of football in more than two seasons.

Norwood had 10 of the top 11 ball winners on the ground to half time, with Ryan flying the flag for West with 11 disposals.

Cootee had 17 disposals, six clearances and a goal in the first half, while Hamilton had 11 disposals to go with his two classy goals.

Nik Rokahr, Pierce Seymour and Twelftree had 10 apiece. Seymour and Matt Ling were left to do as they liked across half back, while Norwood’s midfield was humming off the back of Rokahr, Cootee, Lowe and the return of ruckman Luke Surman.

Binder, Callow, Hamilton and F. Heard had two goals each in the first half.

Leading by 11 goals at the break, the result was beyond doubt, but Westies came out showing a lot more fight.

The game became a lot more contested, and the Bloods registered their second goal of the match through Hamish Ellem.

The Redlegs still managed three goals, each coming through tall forwards Binder, Callow and Finn Heard, and looked damaging when transitioning the ball through the middle of the ground.

Norwood extended its three quarter time lead to 79 points, 14.12-96 to 2.5-17.

The floodgates again opened in the final term, kicking five goals to one. Three coming off the boot of Callow to jump into the top three in the race for the Ken Farmer Medal, with 18 for the season (13 from his last three matches).

Cootee finished with 25 disposals, nine clearances, seven tackles and a goal to continue his good season.

Norwood now has two wins on the board, and with North Adelaide defeating the Eagles in Round 8, sit three wins outside the top 5.

The Redlegs next week travel to Unley to face the undefeated Sturt on King’s Birthday Monday.

Norwood 5.5, 11.9, 14.12, 19.15 – 129

West Adelaide 0.1, 1.3, 2.5, 3.7 – 25

Goals: Callow 6, Binder 4, Hamilton 3, F. Heard 3, Twelftree, Cootee, Lowe

Best: Callow, Cootee, Hamilton, Seymour, Twelftree

Norwood and West Adelaide played out an incredible draw in the Reserves game at Hisense Stadium on Saturday, with the Redlegs coming from 39 points down to tie the game on the siren. 

With one point in it Charlie Cook had the chance to be the hero in the most unlikely circumstance, breaking from a centre clearance with five seconds remaining, but his 52m running shot drifted to the right as the siren rang to level the scores at 10.13-73 apiece.

After a close first quarter, Norwood was well and truly outplayed in the middle portion of the game, as the Bloods piled on eight goals to three in the second and third terms.

West led by a match-high 39 points late in the third term, before Jack Aherne goaled after the three quarter time siren for the Redlegs.

Needing a lot to go right in the final term, Jake Cresswell nailed a goal within the first two minutes to bring the margin back to four goals.

Jonty Koehne returned serve for Westies soon after, getting the margin back out to 30 points, which seemed a bridge too far in the 26-minute flat quarters.

However, Norwood had other ideas and Damon Pitt kicked three goals in nine minutes for the Redlegs, and Will Prescott another, which suddenly got the game back to seven points with six minutes to play.

Jack Hodges kicked Norwood’s sixth goal of the quarter with 51 seconds remaining to make it one point. Hodges then had to jump over the fence to get the ball while the clock continued to count down, and by the time the ball was thrown up in the middle there was 20 seconds left.

The ball bobbled around in the clearance before Oscar Hodge grabbed it and found the running Cook, who gathered the ball with just enough time to pull off the miracle comeback. He ran 20m with no time on the clock and gave it his all from 52m.

Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for the Redlegs, but a long way from where they could have possibly imagined when 39 points down late in the third term.

Pitt finished the game with four goals, while Jayden Gale kicked two. Gale also had 21 disposals, four clearances and four tackles.

George McLeod was once again Norwood’s leading ball winner with 24 disposals, while Max Hodges had 23 touches.

Norwood 1.2, 2.6, 4.10, 10.13 – 73

West Adelaide 1.3, 6.7, 9.11, 10.13 – 73

Goals: Pitt 4, Gale 2, Aherne, Cresswell, J. Jodges, Prescott

Best: M. Hodges, Hodge, Gauci, D’Annunzio, Gillow