The Redlegs Review, Round 3

Norwood Senior Coach Jade Sheedy says he is pleased to have chalked up a maiden win for the 2026 season following a 22-point triumph over South Adelaide on Friday night.

The Redlegs recovered from a slow start to pile on seven goals in a match-defining third quarter that paved the way to victory.

Although Sheedy was disappointed with aspects of his team’s performance in the opening half, he was equally as impressed with the response after the main break

“It was nice to get the win,” Sheedy told The Redlegs Review Podcast.

“We didn’t start how we wanted to, and South probably could have put a bit more scoreboard pressure on us early, and as a result we wrestled back some momentum in the second quarter.”

“We put it on the mids at half time around our contest, and Finn Heard, Nik Rokahr, Baynen Lowe and Kade Dittmar really got to work in that third quarter and it was a pretty powerful quarter of footy which obviously helped us win the game.”

“All of it was off really strong contest work and centre bounce work, where if we didn’t win it, we were able to force a repeat stoppage, especially through Finn and Nik in that third quarter and then the ability to play the game in our front half gave us some more looks and brought our forwards into the game more regularly.”

“From that, Tristan Binder was really good up forward, and if he didn’t mark it, he brought it to ground, and our smalls got to work and our pressure at ground level in our front half in that third quarter was really strong as well.”

Sheedy was also full of praise for his side’s defensive effort, with Norwood holding the visitors to just 52 points on the back of some outstanding intercept marking.

“Our backs have been really strong all year and we have kept teams to low scores. For us when we can play the game in our front half we can set up how we want to and advantage our aerial strengths with (Pierce) Seymour, (Aaron) Francis, Jack Heard and (Alec) Wright, so we’ve got some good players back there who can catch the ball and are very courageous as well.”

Leading the way in defence was recruit Aaron Francis, who patrolled the backline superbly to finish with 30 disposals, 10 marks and six rebound 50s in a stellar performance.

“He has been excellent, and he and Pierce in the backline are really working strongly together, along with Jack and Tom (Donnelly) as our four main keys. It takes time and you’ve got to play some footy together, and Aaron is only new to the program.”

“I was really impressed with how he closed out at ground level. He really set the scene for us right from the start with some strong close-outs at ground level. He is really powerful and strong, and his ability to play on smalls and talls is a big strength.”

While Norwood’s defence has been strong to start the year, Sheedy acknowledged that the Redlegs’ offensive game remains a work in progress after failing to fully capitalise on the scoreboard across the first three games.

“We have tried to talk a little bit more about our offence. For us, it will be focusing back on our contest, and that’s all over the field and in defence as well.”

“After quarter time the game was played a lot in our front half, but we couldn’t convert in the last quarter and we kicked six points which hurt on the scoreboard a little bit.”

The forward line could receive a major boost this weekend as key forward Jackson Callow nears a return from a broken hand, with his height and marking prowess adding an extra dimension to the attack.

“I guess having Jackson and Harry (Boyd) out and having Finn back in the ruck, we’ve been a little bit smaller down there than first anticipated through the summer, but that’s the game of footy.”

“He has got to get through training this week, but he trained strongly last night and we’ve got our main session tonight, so if he gets through that he’ll put his hand up for selection, and he’d be a good addition back into the team.”

Friday night’s win was somewhat soured by yet another injury setback for star midfielder Mitch O’Neill, who suffered a hamstring injury in the second quarter of the Reserves contest.

“It is terrible. We love Mitch; all the players and support staff love him, and he’s a tremendous young man. He has had a very unfortunate 12 months and he was so keen to get back and play some footy.”

“He was going really well and we were hopeful that he could get through a game of footy for himself as well. He had a scan yesterday, so we’ll get those reports hopefully today and then work out a plan of what it looks like for him and work out a plan to get him playing some footy.”

Norwood must now turn their attention to another huge Friday night clash against Port Adelaide at Coopers Stadium, with Sheedy expecting a fierce challenge from the old foe.

“They are very good with their hands, and if you don’t apply the right amount of pressure and come forward to defend them, they can get through you with a bit of speed, and we’ve seen that at AFL level last week.”

“You can see a clear identity around how they want to play and how they want to move the ball, so we want to value our contest and our defence first and foremost and earn the right to win the ball back and play it on our terms.”

The game will also mark Jack Heard’s 100th appearance at SANFL level, with Sheedy taking the opportunity to acknowledge his contribution to the club.

“He is a junior of the footy club and is vice-captain. To play 100 games is a really big achievement at SANFL level. Players have to work and commit three or four times a week in footy season and they have to give up a lot.”

“He is a great teammate and really well respected, and we spoke about it last night that this will be Jack’s week and we’ll celebrate it.”

“The boys did 35 push-ups for him last night for his number, so we’re really looking forward to getting behind him, and his family are great supporters of the club and they’re always here, so it’s hopefully going to be a good day for the Heard family.”

Listen to Jade Sheedy’s full interview here: