Round 18 Underage Reports – 18s win minor Premiership

In an important final game of the regular season, we came with the mindset that we were going to launch into our finals campaign, and that is exactly what we did. Both teams had a lot to play for, with West Adelaide desperate for a spot in the top four and us playing to hold a spot in the top two. 

The first term was an arm wrestle with neither team able to pull away. A late goal gave West a four-point lead at the first break. However, the second quarter went all Norwood’s way, as we piled on seven goals while keeping West goalless.

The third quarter was much of the same, as we put another five goals away before kicking another four in the last. Defensive solid efforts prevented West from ever applying any scoreboard pressure and we finished the game with a 62-point win.

Noah Hyde was judged our best for the day and finished with 23 disposals, eight marks and two goals. Tyson Walls and Josh Bradford were prolific in the midfield battle finishing with 20 disposals, nine clearances and 22 disposals, seven clearances respectively. Despite being undersized in the ruck, Jack Grosser was gallant in his efforts to consistently compete and nullify the influence of his taller opponents.

With nine goal scorers for the game, we showed our ability to hit the scoreboard in numerous ways. Harvey Pedler was a standout, kicking four goals. Caleb Barton and Brayden Rachwal also contributed with three goals each while Oliver Sellen and Noah Hyde kicked two.

The win not only secured our place in the finals but enabled us to jump to first place on the ladder and secure the minor premiership for 2022. This achievement comes on the back of players’ willingness to consistently buy into our strong brand of Norwood Football. We now look forward to showing how Norwood football stands up in finals football.

SCOREBOARD:

NORWOOD: 2.4 9.7 14.9 18.11 (119)

WEST ADELAIDE: 3.2 3.5 5.6 8.9 (57)

GOALS: Pedler 4, Barton 3, Rachwal 3, Sellen 2, Hyde 2, Blacker, Bradford, Rahui, Tomney

Well, Saturday was our last match for Season 2022. We faced West Adelaide and in previous games this year they have been close. West were coming off a win against North and were keen to get two wins in a row.

We took a real focus on the education that we have presented to the group for 2022. We wanted the players to trust what they have learnt over the season and put it all together. We introduced two new players and could tell the boys were up for the challenge.

To the boys credit, we produced a solid competitive four-quarter effort. The two areas that were going to let us down were allowing West uncontested possession and opposition sides scoring early in a quarter and late in a quarter.

The first three quarters were an even contest and every time West pulled away, our boys found a way to get back into the game. Something that has been a focus of 2022 is not throwing in the towel when sides pull away. In the last quarter we asked the players to be aggressive and take the game on, which they did and with five minutes left we found ourselves in front.

In the last five minutes, I felt we lost the game rather than West winning it, as has been the case all year. The West players were able to find an easy way to score from a lack of discipline and then with 45 seconds left we just needed some simple brilliance, yet we went missing. Looking back at the game, West scored most of their goals in the first min of each quarter and in red time. We also were beaten in in the uncontested ball by plenty. The two key areas we were worried about.

As many of these players move on to the 18s, we wish them well on their football journey.

SCOREBOARD:

NORWOOD: 3.2 6.4 9.6 13.9 (87)

WEST ADELAIDE: 4.1 7.6 10.11 13.13 (91)

BEST: J Polkinghorne, T Edwards, J Flower, L Johnston, A Mustaca

GOALS: T Edwards 4, E Wood 3, A Mustaca 2, A Hartwig 1, R Penna 1, J Polkinghorne 1, W Prescott 1