Norwood cling on at Prospect to go 5-0

Norwood held on to an eight-point win over North Adelaide at Prospect Oval to secure its fifth straight win to start 2024.

The Redlegs got off to a flyer and never trailed on Saturday, but that was far from the story of the game as North Adelaide pushed the visitors right to the line in a 10.7-67 to 8.11-59 win.

After losing veteran Matt Panos to a knee injury last week, co-captain Jacob Kennerley and half back Matt Ling were both late outs from the Round 5 match with leg injuries.

Baynen Lowe stood up, spending more time in the midfield in Kennerley’s absence, and finished with 26 disposals, five clearances and a goal.

Billy Cootee and Mitch O’Neill both had 24 disposals, while Harry Boyd was again a massive contributor in the ruck with 19 disposals, 45 hitouts, 11 clearances and a goal.

Xavier Tranfa was back into the side for the first time this season and made the most of it with three first-half goals.

The Redlegs kicked the first four goals of the match, including the first within the first 20 seconds of the contest.

Lowe won the first centre clearance, and followed up his own kick by getting the ball back and nailing the first goal in the opening 20 seconds.

The next 10 minutes was close, with Norwood finding 4-1 inside 50m entries, but North’s defense stood tall.

Under siege early, North was doing its best to slow the play; taking 14-7 marks and laying 11-7 tackles, but Norwood was winning the early clearance battle 7-2.

A clearance was where Norwood found its second goal, with O’Neill finding three quick disposals as the Redlegs transitioned from half back to a Boyd mark inside 50m. Boyd converted to make it a 2.1-13 to 0.1-1 game at the 14-minute mark.

Norwood again transitioned nicely from half back and Goy Lok found a leading Izaak Twelftree. Twelftree’s set shot missed, but Norwood had a third goal one minute later through Tranfa.

Finn Heard – who had a breakout game last week with two goals, 18 disposals and six marks against Port – kicked Norwood’s fourth goal following a strong mark 30m out.

F. Heard’s goal took Norwood to a match-high 26-point lead at the 21-minute mark of the match.

Trailing 4.3-27 to 0.1-1, North finally had its first goal on the board at the 23-minute mark, a long set shot from Keenan Ramsey.

The Redlegs went into quarter time with a 22-point 4.5-29 to 1.1-7 advantage on the scoreboard, but also led the disposals 84-65, clearances 13-8 and inside 50m entries 14-4.

Cootee had nine first quarter disposals, while Lowe and O’Neill had seven apiece.

North kicked a much needed goal to start the second quarter, making it back to back goals for the home side and reducing the margin to 16 points.

Twelftree made something out of nothing with a clever juggling mark from a scrappy inside 50m entry, but again missed his kick to the left.

Brad Ashcroft kicked the Roosters third straight goal, and Mitch Harvey marked 10m out to make it four in a row and just a four-point deficit at the 13-minute mark of the second term.

Norwood needed to respond and won the resulting centre clearance, as Lowe found Tranfa 25m out, who flew over a defender to take a strong contested mark.

Tranfa’s goal was Norwood’s first of the second term and returned the margin to 10 points.

It was tight and tough affair, and Cooper Murley provided a spark, swooping on a loose ball, taking a bounce and finding Tranfa in the pocket.

Tranfa kicked his third goal of the half and made it a 16-point game, 6.6-42 to 4.2-26 at the 20-minute mark.

Just as Norwood threatened to take the game away again, North steadied and Ewan Mackinlay snapped a classy goal to stay in close proximity at half time.

At the main break it was 6.6-42 to 5.2-32.

Tranfa had three first half goals from 10 disposals and four marks. Lowe had 14 disposals, three tackles and a goal to half time, while O’Neill had 13 disposals and Boyd 12 disposals, a goal, six clearances and 24 hitouts.

Norwood led disposals 159-125, inside 50m 21-16 and clearances 25-21, while North led tackles 45-39.

North threatened the goalface to start the second half, but it was Norwood that found the first goal, going end to end from a kick-out and finishing with a Connor McLean goal.

The Redlegs were finding success with the Murley long kick-out to Boyd in the middle of the ground, and again it took just two kicks to get inside 50m. This time Tranfa sprayed the shot out of bounds.

North dominated the early stages of the third term but could manage a wayward 0.3 to Norwood’s 1.0.

It quickly became 2.0 for Norwood when another kick in found a Redlegs forward, with McLean kicking his second to make it a 19-point lead.

After four behinds to start the second half, Harvey finally put North’s sixth goal through to bring it back to 12 points.

Back in the League side after kicking the sealer in the Reserves last week, Mitch Carroll evaded a North defender and kicked Norwood’s ninth goal. This was Norwood’s last for a long while as the Roosters took the ascendancy.

The Redlegs didn’t enjoy the 19-point buffer for long as Ashcroft drew a free kick and nailed the replying goal two minutes later.

Three quarter time couldn’t come quick enough for the Redlegs, who conceded a wayward 2.7 for the term and were under pressure in defense, with a 17-9 inside 50m count in favour of the Roosters.

North’s Sam Mayes missed a 25m set shot directly in front on the siren, and Norwood was hanging onto a 10-point lead at the final break, 9.7-61 to 7.9-51, thanks to an accurate 3.1 in the third quarter from limited entries.

It was anyone’s game at the start of the final term, with the Roosters running with all the momentum.

Boyd won his 36^th hitout of the day to start the final term and Norwood banged the ball inside 50m.

North had the first two shots at goal, but its poor kicking continued with a behind and an out on the full from set shots.

Both sides continued to defend well, but Harvey marked and kicked his third goal of the match at the eight-minute mark of the last term to bring it within three points.

Norwood was clinging onto a lead that it had held all match, North peppering with seven consecutive scoring shots following M. Carroll’s third quarter goal.

Twelftree laid a great run down tackle on Blayne O’Loughlin to keep the ball inside 50m, as Tranfa jumped to smother a ball on the wing, and players in defence were diving in front of attackers to desperately spoil and intercept mark.

The Redlegs were held scoreless to North’s 1.2 for the first 20 minutes of the final term when Jake Cresswell went back with the flight to take a pack mark in the pocket. He went back and kicked a crucial clutch goal to go eight points up.

Norwood managed to hang on for the final minutes, and record its fifth straight win over Sturt, Glenelg, West Adelaide, Port Adelaide and now North Adelaide.

The Redlegs take on Adelaide on Friday, May 10 at Coopers Stadium.

Norwood 4.5, 6.6, 9.7, 10.7 – 67

North Adelaide 1.1, 5.2, 7.9, 8.11 – 59

Goals: Tranfa 3, McLean 2, Boyd, M. Carroll, F. Heard, Lowe, Cresswell

Best: Lowe, Donnelly, Tranfa, Boyle

Norwood has remained unbeaten across both the senior men’s squad, with the Redlegs Reserves claiming a 36-point win over North Adelaide at Prospect Oval on Saturday. 

Forward Liam Robinson continued his strong run of form (12 goals in the last three matches), booting another three goals to head to the (equal) top of the Reserves League goal kicking tally with 15.

Tristan Binder also kicked three on Saturday, taking his season tally to 11, while Lachie Bates booted two from 19 disposals.

Ben Simpson had 28 disposals, seven tackles and nine clearances, while Isaac Saywell had 25 touches and Luke Bogle 22.

It was the second time in consecutive weeks that Norwood had played North, with the Redlegs escaping with a last-minute seven-point win in Round 4.

Saturday’s Round 5 game started with two goals apiece in the first term with Binder and Robinson getting on the board early.

From quarter time, Norwood took the advantage and booted four goals to one in the second quarter to open up a 17-point win at half time.

The Redlegs continued to run away with it after half time, kicking the only three goals of the third term to go up by a match-high 43 points.

Bates kicked Norwood’s only goal of the last quarter, while North managed two, but the damage was done.

The Redlegs Reserves take on the Roosters once again this Friday evening at Coopers Stadium, with Norwood’s League side taking on Adelaide.

Norwood 2.1, 6.3, 9.10, 10.14 – 74

North Adelaide 2.4, 2.4, 3.5, 5.8 – 38

Goals: Binder 3, Robinson 3, Bates 2, Bogle, Nicholls

Best: Simpson, Z. Morris, B. Carroll, Bogle, Robinson