AFTER Glenelg won last night to retain top spot on the ladder, all eyes will be on whether on not South Adelaide can keep just two points behind when they travel to The Parade to take on Norwood. The Redlegs will be desperate to bounce back following their loss to West Adelaide last week which knocked them out of the four, and back at home under lights will give them a boost.

FORM

South Adelaide is the in-form team in the competition, and dispatched reigning premiers Central District with a dominant second term in Round 7, making it five consecutive wins after an 0-2 start. Norwood was the last team to knock off the rampaging Panthers, and has found inconsistent form since, sitting at 3-4 and fifth on the ladder.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Norwood: 4
South Adelaide: 10

Norwood would have been relieved to get an early win on the board against South Adelaide back in Round 2 of this season, as knocking the Panthers off at Noarlunga is no easy feat. It snapped a run of three-straight wins for the Panthers over the past two seasons, with South holding a 10-4 advantage over the Redlegs, though did win six of the first seven encounters including the 2018 SANFLW Grand Final. Norwood has won three of the past seven encounters since then.

TEAMS

Norwood:

B: Emily Bartsch (27), Rosie Boon (46)
HB: Sarah Branford (9), Charli Hazelhurst (39), Charlotte Nenke (44)
C: Coby Morgan (2), Kate Alexander (61), Tahlita Buethke (1)
HF: Amelia Rusden (10), Mykaela Walker (35), Shai Hiscock (13)
F: Elle Lineage (50), Adrienne Davies (8)
R: Jade Halfpenny (22), Stephanie Simmonds (17), Georgina Birchall (37)
INT: Lauren Smith (24), Kiana Lee (28), Candice Belbin (26), Tesharna Maher (14), Lana Schwerdt (41)

South Adelaide:

B: Tiffany King (14), Jaslynne Smith (35)
HB: Litonya Cockatoo-Motlap (15), Esther Schirmer (23), Nicole Campbell (9)
C: Laquoiya Cockatoo-Motlap (11), Mel Anderson (6), Morgan Johnston (1)
HF: Emma Charlton (25), Jorja Hooper (38), Emily Brockhurst (13)
F: Jordann Hickey (4), Lily Baxter (56)
R: Soriah Moon (32), Caitlin Couch (10), Nikki Nield (2)
INT: Abby Woodward (57), Seraphina Moon (46), Sam Pratt (22), Layla Vizgaudis (20), Shae Archbold (17), Chelsea Farr (21), Sarah Wright (5), Jacinda Schunselaar (30)

CHANGES

Norwood has kept its team relatively steady, instead opting for some extra height with Under 16s ruck Kate Alexander returning to the side after a week’s rest, replacing Emma Clark. South Adelaide has made at least three changes with the dangerous Doreena Hansen unavailable, while Nicole Mark and Caitlin Radbone are other outs. Coming into the side is some height for the Panthers as well with ruck Jacinda Schunselaar and forward Shae Archbold, while potential debutants Seraphina Moon and Abby Woodward have also been named on an extended bench.

AFLW DRAFT WATCH

Norwood will enjoy having Alexander back in there with her height, though she has a huge task up against Soriah Moon. Winger Coby Morgan will provide the pace on the outside, while Charli Hazelhurst is a strong marking option in defence. While not named in the side, it is great to see Under 16s All-Australian Charlee Brooksby – sister of Port Adelaide’s Molly – close to a League debut.

For South Adelaide, Archbold adds to a dangerous forward mix with Lily Baxter, Emma Charlton and Layla Vizgaudis all rolling through there. Defender Esther Schirmer will also take a key role in the back 50 to try and shut down one of the Norwood forwards.

STATS THAT MATTER

South Adelaide’s defence is the best in the league, conceding just 22.7 points per game this season, though Norwood is not far behind in third (31/7). On the scoring front, the Redlegs are just ahead of South, ranked second and third respectively, though they are the most accurate team in the league, while being the lowest kicking team, compared to South ranked number one in that stat. By comparison, Norwood is ranked one for handballs, while the Panthers come in at sixth.

PREDICTION

South Adelaide arguably deserve to be premiership favourites on form, so will be here considering Norwood’s up and down efforts thus far. However the Redlegs have the team on paper to beat anyone, and on a Friday night on their home deck, anything is possible.