NORTH Adelaide firmly established itself as the third best side, essentially locking in its finals place with another win, while West Adelaide and Norwood getting up mean just two points separated fourth from seventh in a hot run to the finals series.

>> SANFLW Round 9 MOTR: Panthers hold on after epic Eagles struggle

OTHER ROUND 9 RESULTS:

Norwood forced its way back from a 23-point deficit early in the third term to slam home six of the last seven goals and run out eight-point victors over Central District. For the second consecutive week, the Dogs looked to have the game in the back at one stage or another, but once again came away without any points against the bottom two Redlegs.

The win was the Redlegs’ third for the season, joining Central District and West Adelaide on three wins, and the trio sit just one win adrift of fourth placed Sturt as they all compete for the last spot in the top four. The home side had four more clearances (35-31) and five more inside 50s (38-33) in the win, with a four goals to one final term seeing them snatch an incredible come-from-behind victory.

Jade Halfpenny (21 disposals, three marks, 11 tackles, five clearances, four inside 50s and two rebound 50s) was a clear best on ground, though the work of Mykaela Walker and Adrienne Davies who both kicked two goals, impressed. Young guns Charlee Brooksby and Coby Morgan provided plenty of run across the field while Kate Alexander had a great ruck battle with fellow State Academy member Miyu Endersby.

Hard-running defender Madison Lane impressed out of the back 50 with 26 disposals, four marks, six tackles, four clearances, three inside 50s and six rebound 50s, while the midfield pairing of Tesharna Maher and Dakota Williams – who combined for 11 clearances – were impressive. Bottom-ager Tara Lord and wingers Laitiah Huynh and Karissa Searle also tried hard in the loss.

Central District has a must-win game against Sturt at Unley next Saturday afternoon, while Norwood comes up against West Adelaide an hour later at Hisense Stadium.

NORWOOD 0.0 | 3.2 | 5.2 | 9.4 (58)
CENTRAL DISTRICT 2.1 | 6.1 | 7.2 | 8.2 (50)

GOALS:
Norwood: A. Davies 2, M. Walker 2, S. Crosby, K. Alexander, S. Branford, K. Lee, A. Rusden
Central District: K. Rosenzweig 2, K. Searle, L. Breguet, S. Eaton, A. Healy, T. Lord, T. Maher

RMC BEST:
Norwood: J. Halfpenny, M. Walker, C. Brooksby, A. Davies, C. Morgan
Central District: M. Lane, T. Maher. D. Williams, T. Lord, L. Huynh

North Adelaide has held Sturt scoreless for three quarters and goalless for the match during a 30-point triumph at Unley on the weekend. The red-hot Roosters ran out 5.7 (37) to 0.7 (7) victors, kicking away in the second half with three goals to nil as the Double Blues rued kicking 0.7 in the second term, their only scoring quarter. Sturt dominated the clearances (34-17) but only had a plus-three inside 50 count (29-26) as the Roosters defence was more than up to the task of clearing the ball.

The trio of Jamie Parish (25 disposals, six marks – one contested – and six rebound 50s), Laela Ebert (23 disposals, four marks, four tackles and two rebound 50s) and Ella Metcalfe (19 disposals, nine marks – one contested – three tackles and four rebound 50s) were all impressive. Djimila Totham and Ash George were busy around the ball all game.

For the Double Blues, the midfield duo of Isobel Kuiper (25 disposals, 11 clearances, six tackles and five inside 50s) and Monique Bessen (27 disposals, nine tackles, six clearances and four inside 50s) caught the eye, while the return of Georgia Swan proved a good one as she created run and carry. Sophie Thredgold‘s work back behind the ball repelled attacks the best she could.

North Adelaide has a massive home clash against Woodville-West Torrens next Saturday, while Sturt looks to bounce back against Central District, remaining at Unley.

STURT 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 (7)
NORTH ADELAIDE 1.3 | 2.3 | 5.5 | 5.7 (37)

GOALS:
Sturt: Nil.
North Adelaide: A. Ward, J. Clark, A. Crooks, S. Hardin, S. Jensen

RMC BEST:
Sturt: I. Kuiper, M. Bessen, G. Swan, S. Ross, S. Thredgold
North Adelaide: J. Parish, L. Ebert, E. Metcalfe, D. Totham, A. George

After six straight losses, West Adelaide had a relieving victory over Glenelg, denying the Bays back-to-back wins in the SANFLW. The Bloods had come agonisingly close in recent weeks and finally got over the line, kicking 4.9 (33) to 0.2 (2) in a hard-fought contest. They had less inside 50s (29-35) but made the most of their chances with 13 scoring shots meaning almost half of their entries produced a score in an efficient performance.

Zoe Venning dominated for the Bloods, racking up 34 touches, five marks, three tackles, four clearances, six inside 50s and nine rebound 50s, working in tandem with Ruby Ballard who had 18 touches, four tackles and five clearance. Experienced Hannah Button found her fair share through the middle, while hard-running Lucy Waye hit the scoreboard once against and skipper Madi Russell was steadfast in defence.

Asha Dufour turned it on against her former side, racking up a game-high nine clearances and seven inside 50s to go with her 26 disposals and four marks. She worked well alongside Jessica Bates (26 disposals, four marks, six tackles, four clearances and four inside 50s, while top-age Bays defender Tessa Davis and her partner in crime in the back 50 Ash Dyer-Pietsch took 10 marks and had 14 rebound 50s between them.

West Adelaide hosts Norwood at Hisense Stadium in Round 10, while Glenelg has the tough ask of taking on South Adelaide down in Noarlunga.

GLENELG 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.4 (10)
WEST ADELAIDE 2.0 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 4.9 (33)

GOALS:
Glenelg: C. O’Sullivan
West Adelaide: S. Deed, L. Waye, N. Hooper, G. Pater

RMC BEST:
Glenelg: A. Dufour, T. Davis, A. Dyer-Pietsch, J. Bates, G. Fielder
West Adelaide: Z. Venning, R. Ballard, L. Waye, H. Button, M. Russell