Norwood start 2024 with back to back wins

Norwood has started its 2024 SANFL season with back to back wins, following a 24-point victory over reigning premiers Glenelg on Friday night at Coopers Stadium.

The Redlegs drew the two Grand Finalists Sturt and Glenelg in Rounds 1 and 2, but have escaped with 27-point and 24-point wins respectively to get their season underway off to the best possible start.

On Friday night it was a 10.11-71 to 7.5-47 victory over the Tigers.

Norwood Coach Jade Rawlings was thrilled with his side’s ability to hold Glenelg to 47 points, considering the Tigers Round 1 score of 23.12-150 against Port Adelaide.

“They kicked 150 points in Round 1, and we thought about ways we could restrict scoring,” he said.

“Tom Donnelly has been outstanding, he’s had Josh Hone (Sturt) and Lachie Hosie (Glenelg) in the first two weeks and kept them quiet. The back seven have been great and have worked well together against two hot forward lines.”

Norwood captain Jacob Kennerley set the tone with two first half goals, and laid seven tackles for the match, while Billy Cootee had 24 disposals for the night, three clearances and a goal, and Jake Cresswell 24 disposals.

Mitch O’Neill had 21 disposals and kicked two goals.

Scores were level at half time, with Norwood ruing missed opportunities at 4.8-32 to 5.2-32, but put it all behind them in a dominant third quarter display where the Redlegs booted a match-defying four unanswered goals.

Kennerley won the toss and kicked towards the Roger Woodcock End, and immediately won the first clearance.

Norwood had the first two behinds on the board quickly, but it was Glenelg’s Will Gould that booted the first goal of the evening. A mark and set shot from 30m out.

Cootee won the second centre clearance and Norwood again locked the ball inside forward 50m.

The Redlegs first goal came through S. Morris, who won a holding the ball free kick 15m out.

Norwood won a third straight centre clearance, and quickly had its second goal through Kennerley, a classy finish from the paint of 50m.

Cresswell was busy early, with seven disposals (six kicks) in the first eight minutes, finishing the first term with 11 disposals.

Glenelg’s second goal came from a turnover on the wing, and it was a fast, free-flowing match with four goals from the first 11 minutes.

The next eight minutes was a tight, contested tussle, with Norwood failing to find a clean kick inside 50m from several front half turnovers.

The Redlegs third goal came from tough midfielder O’Neill, who shrugged a defender and snapped truly from a boundary throw in in the Coopers Corner pocket. It was reward for effort from O’Neill who took two heavy hits in desperate defensive spoiling attempts.

Norwood led by 10 points at quarter time, but could have been a greater margin with a 21-7 inside 50m count, 84-69 disposal count and 7-2 scoring shots.

Former Sydney Swan Gould had his second goal soon after the quarter time re-start, reducing the margin to three points.

Glenelg was having the better of the second term and eventually hit the front at the eight-minute mark through Hugh Stagg.

Norwood had plenty of opportunities down The Parade End, but were wasteful in front of goal for a return of 1.4 for the quarter. The goal came off the boot of Kennerley, a long range set shot for his second goal of the first half to go with his 11 disposals.

Scores were level at half time, with Norwood 4.8-32 to Glenelg’s 5.2-32.

Cresswell had 16 disposals to the half, while Cootee and O’Neill had 12 apiece. Darcy Bailey had 14 for Glenelg.

In Round 1, Norwood kicked four goals to one in the third term in a match-defining stint, and in Round 2 it was four unanswered goals to tip the scales.

The first goal of the term came through full forward Jackson Callow, who put Norwood back in front early in the third term, with a long range goal in front of the scoreboard.

Glenelg hemmed Norwood into its forward 50m, making ball movement difficult.

Eventually the Redlegs broke through, transitioning the ball from half back through the midfield and ending in an Izaak Twelftree running goal.

Norwood had two in two minutes when Cootee drew a free kick 35m out from goal to convert and help his side to a 17-point lead at the 15-minute mark of the third term.

The Redlegs had a third goal in quick succession when Jordon Boyle ran into an open goalsquare, making it a 24-point advantage at three quarter time. Boyle’s first goal in Redlegs colours.

The home side kicked 4.1 to Glenelg’s solitary behind in the third quarter.

Snook surged Glenelg forward to start the fourth term, needing an early spark for his side.

S. Morris landed the knock-out punch, kicking Norwood’s fifth consecutive goal and taking the Redlegs 29 points clear.

Riley Holder converted a set shot to return the game to 23 points, and Lachie Hosie kicked a late major for Glenelg’s second goal of the second half.

Next Saturday, Norwood heads to it’s regional zone of Port Lincoln to take on West Adelaide in The Teakle Cup.

Norwood 3.4, 4.8, 8.9, 10.11 – 71

Glenelg 2.0, 5.2, 5.3, 7.5 – 47

Goals: Kennerley 2, S. Morris 2, O’Neill 2, Boyle, Callow, Cootee, Twelftree

Best: O’Neill, Cootee, S. Morris, Cresswell, Donnelly

Norwood’s Reserves have started the season with back to back wins, defeating Glenelg by nine points at Coopers Stadium on Friday evening.

The Redlegs controlled most of the match and led by as much as 31 points, before the Tigers made a late run, booting the last three goals of the contest.

Norwood held on to a 9.8-62 to 7.11-53 victory.

Max Hodges returned from a long term knee injury, and Ethan Warburton from a shoulder.

Warburton was the leading possession winner on the ground, finishing with 30 disposals and a goal, while George McLeod and Dom White had 19 disposals apiece.

Tristan Binder, Connor McLean and Liam Robinson each kicked two goals.

Norwood started well and capitalised from their repeated inside 50m entries in the first term, with the first three goals of the game through Binder, Josh Bradford and Goy Lok, and led by 21 points at quarter time, 3.6-24 to 0.3-3.

The second term was a low-scoring affair to start with, but Glenelg finally made it on the board with a goal through Will Stockman.

White and Warburton were having a major influence on the contest with 14 disposals apiece in the first half.

White combined with Bradford and Jayden Gale on the far wing to set up Norwood’s first major of the second term at the 19-minute mark, with Robinson finding McLean 30m out for a set shot goal.

McLean’s goal made it a 19-point game.

McLean was crucial to Norwood’s next goal a minute later, putting his body on the line to spoil a Glenelg defender which spilled to Warburton who goaled from 25m out.

Norwood won the centre clearance which found Tranfa at half forward, he turned and found McLean again on the lead. McLean kicked truly for Norwood’s third goal in as many minutes.

McLean’s purple patch turned a 19-point lead into a 31-point game on the brink of half time.

A courageous mark from Brodie Carroll helped Norwood back inside 50m, where Harvey Pedler took an uncontested mark. He couldn’t finish with the goal, but Norwood went into the rooms at half time with a 6.6-42 to 1.5-11 lead.

At the main break, Norwood was dominating disposal 166-106 and inside 50m entries 27-13, while also leading the tackles 39-34, marks 32-20 and clearances 19-14 in a convincing first half display.

Glenelg again attacked early in the third term, but managed just 1.3 for their inside 50m dominance 10-5, with Norwood again remaining scoreless for a large portion of the quarter.

Like the second term Norwood scored its first goal at the 19-minute mark of the third, this time a snap through Binder to return the game to 28 points.

Todd Reid kicked his and Glenelg’s second goal of the quarter to make it a 22-point three quarter time deficit, 7.7-49 to 3.8-26.

Robinson’s first goal came at the 10-minute mark of the final quarter to return the margin to 27 points, which seemed too much to overturn, but Glenelg booted three of the last four goals to make it interesting.

Norwood managed to hold on to victory, and take on West Adelaide on Friday, April 19 at Hisense Stadium, while the League side heads to Port Lincoln.

The Bloods have started 2024 with a win and a draw.

Norwood 3.6, 6.6, 7.7, 9.8 – 62

Glenelg 0.3, 1.5, 3.8, 7.11 – 53

Goals: Binder 2, McLean 2, Robinson 2, Bradford, Lok, Warburton

Best: Warburton, Z. Morris, Gillow, D’Annunzio, Binder