IN A GAME crying out for a match-winner to take control of an epic struggle, it was Sturt forward Zara Walsh who rose up to make a couple of clutch plays in the last 10 minutes to help her Double Blues side put away a fast-finishing West Adelaide side and return to the top four. Walsh set up a goal to Summer Ross and then kicked one to ice the game herself just in the nick of the time for Sturt to win 5.4 (34) to 4.3 (27).

It was a strange match at Hisense Stadium where in the early stage, the Double Blues looked like convincing winners, slamming home three first quarter goals and leading by 19 points at quarter time. With the exception of a brilliant end-to-end passage from the Bloods leading to a Paige Allan goal, from the 13th minute of the first term through to the 18th minute of the third term, it was a highly contested, defensive-focused game.

West had more chances through the middle two terms, but trying to pick the way through Sturt’s defence with the likes of Isabella Drew, Lily Whitcombe and Hannah Prenzler mopping everything up was nigh on impossible. It only took that brilliant passage to cause an overlap for Allan to be loose on the end of the chain to run in and slot the goal. Even then it was not the most convincing connection off the boot, but the play was just what the doctor ordered.

A quarter earlier, Sturt had raced out of the blocks, dominating forward half with Saskia Reynolds nailing a long-range bomb that travelled over hands to bounce home, before a couple of classy finishes from Monique Bessen and Georgia King gave the Double Blues a handy lead at the first break. Bessen would be a massive headache for the home side as the top-age young gun was clearly best on ground by the finish with her ball-use and decision making both forward and through the middle outstanding.

However coming into the the dying moments of the third term, it looked likely that the last 45 minutes that had yielded just the one goal would be the case with a quarter to play despite West’s best effort. However no one told Hannah Button. Seemingly on the verge of the siren blowing, she cleanly scooped up the ball and off a step while being tackled put on through to provide that heartbeat for the Bloods.

Depite about 15 seconds remaining by the time the ball was bounced up, there was an almost perfect passage of play out of the middle with Button again involved off Chloe Tonkin‘s tap, and after a brief intermission with a Sturt defender, the pill found its way into the hands of Zoe Venning who pumped it long to the hotspot. Incredibly despite just spilling the mark, veteran Nicole Hooper knew the desperation to get ball to boot and no sooner had she managed to throw it on the siren sounded and players from both sides watched as it bounced through an open goalsquare.

Moments earlier, West Adelaide had been down by 15 points, and now it was just three. Fast forward to three minutes into the fourth term, and Tonkin was again involved, this time drilling a great pass into fellow State Academy member Lucy Waye who wore contact from a couple of Sturt defenders. She went back to nailed the set shot, handing West Adelaide the lead for the first time, and the Bloods had kicked three goals in six minutes.

Hooper almost made it two for her running back into goal but could not quite get it cleanly this time under pressure, so the lead grew to four points. It stayed there until the 12th minute of the quarter where Walsh came to the fore. She cleanly scooped it up and rather than blazing away inside 50 while under pressure or throwing it on her boot, she spotted the left-footed Ross on her teammate’s preferred side. Dishing it out to her, Ross put on the jets past a West defender and nailed a sublime finish on the run.

The lead was back in Sturt’s capable hands, though there were still more twists to come. Waye almost kicked the go-ahead goal up the other end from a ridiculous angle but one behind meant it was that tricky one-point margin in favour of the Double Blues. Sturt was clearly intent on taking time off the clock and playing possession football down the ground to move it inside 50 where the Double Blues could lock it down.

Either side needed a player to break open the final moments, and using her full forward smarts, Walsh got free took a mark next to her Westies opponent and looked like going back for a set shot from 35m out. Her opponent turned to go on the mark and that was all the speedster needed, as once her opponent had committed slightly she took off and then kicked the game-winner on the run from 30 to ice the game for her side.

The siren sounded not too long after with neither team able to add to the score and Sturt able to come away with a truly hard-fought seven-point win. In what seems like a broken record for West coach Bruce Dawes, his side did have its chances, but unable to make the most of the favourable inside 50s count during the middle two quarters. Very unlucky in defeat and hardly ever blown away the Bloods just need to start converting the honourable losses into wins in order to make a charge for finals.

For Sturt though, it was a much needed victory too, regaining a top four spot after losing it in Round 6 due to a disappointing defeat to South Adelaide. On this occasion, their defence held up strong, they dominated the clearances (36-25) and were able to answer a strong challenge from their opponents to seal the deal.

Bessen was an easy choice for best on ground, finishing with 29 disposals, five marks, five tackles, six clearances, three inside 50s, two rebound 50s and a goal in the win. Wing Lily Smart seemed to have found the formula to really make the most of her League opportunity gathering the same amount of disposals as she had in her previous three matches (19), while pumping the ball inside 50 eight times and having four marks and six tackles.

Fellow State Academy wing Ross was dangerous (15 disposals, three marks, four tackles, three clearances, three inside 50s, two rebound 50s and a goal), while Isobel Kuiper though not as dominant as she has been, still managed 18 disposals, six clearances and eight tackles. Defenders Drew, Whitcombe and Prenzler all diid well, while debutant Lily Whiteman had some moments.

For West Adelaide, the usual suspects of Zoe Venning (29 disposals, six tackles, six clearances, three inside 50s and three rebound 50s) and Button (19 disposals, six tackles, three clearances, three inside 50s and a goal) were superb, as was the State Academy contingent of Tonkin, Waye and Emily Mableson, while skipper Madi Russell was her reliable self in the backline.

West Adelaide has a must-win contest against North Adelaide next week at Prospect Oval, while the Double Blues head to Strathalbyn to take on the Panthers.

WEST ADELAIDE 0.1 | 0.1 | 3.1 | 4.3 (27)
STURT 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 5.4 (34)

GOALS:
West Adelaide: P. Allan, H. Button, N. Hooper, L. Waye
Sturt: M. Bessen, G. King, S. Reynolds, S. Ross, Z. Walsh

RMC BEST:
West Adelaide: C. Tonkin, L. Waye, H. Button, Z. Venning, M. Russell
Sturt: M. Bessen, L. Smart. S. Ross, I. Drew, I. Kuiper