NORWOOD held its nerve in one of the competition’s most dramatic finishes, surviving a stunning North Adelaide fightback to win by two points, 7.5 (47) to 7.3 (45), in an ANZAC Day blockbuster that had everything. The Redlegs led by 19 points heading into the final term before the Roosters booted four goals to one to level the scores, only for Norwood to snatch the points with a couple of behinds in the dying moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Adelaide came flying home in the fourth quarter through the persistence and creativity of their young talent, with Sasha Hardin<\/a> snapping a goal to start the comeback before Zara Molloy<\/a> drained a long-range set shot to cut the margin to seven. An immediate Emma Clark<\/a> reply steadied the Redlegs, but Molloy found a second and when Teagan Robins<\/a> ran onto a Caitlin Hardin<\/a> kick, she levelled the scores at 45-all with time running out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Norwood then surged forward with a desperate lunge from Lauren Hoffmann<\/a> stopping a certain Elle Lineage<\/a> goal, before an errant Roosters kick went out on the full which saw Charlee Brooksby<\/a>‘s set shot from the tightest angle scraping a behind making it a two-point advantage before the siren sounded two minutes later with the Redlegs clinging on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The contest was much more one-sided before the final term. Norwood opened with three goals inside the opening seven minutes – Ashley Baker<\/a> marking first up, Amy Gaedtke<\/a> following within four, and Steph Simmonds<\/a> snapping brilliantly from the pocket to make it 18-0 before North Adelaide had drawn breath. The Roosters fought back through Polly Turner<\/a> and Caitlin Hardin to level it up at 19-all at quarter time, but Norwood reasserted control through the second and third terms, going into the final break leading 39-20 with the game seemingly in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jade Halfpenny<\/a> was the standout performer on the ground, accumulating 23 disposals, three marks, 11 tackles and seven clearances across four quarters. Lani Cocks<\/a> continued her strong early-season form with 20 disposals, seven tackles and four clearances, while Lana Schwerdt<\/a> brought composure from defence with 19 disposals and three clearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coby Morgan<\/a> was damaging off the wing with four inside 50s and seven tackles, and Elke Cameron<\/a> provided versatility across multiple lines. Baker took four marks – two contested – and kicked a crucial opening goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For North Adelaide, Ella Metcalfe<\/a> was composed in defence with 23 disposals, four marks – two contested – and three rebound 50s, while Ashleigh George<\/a> racked up 22 disposals and four clearances through the middle. Jamie Parish<\/a> was tireless with eight tackles and nine rebound 50s alongside Hoffmann (14 disposals, seven marks), and Caitlin Hardin was central to the comeback with a goal and three clearances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Molloy’s two goals and Sophie Armitstead’s<\/a> five clearances from 13 disposals were further highlights for a Roosters side that will take plenty of heart from the final term performance despite going home empty-handed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NORTH ADELAIDE 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.2 | 7.3 (45)<\/strong> GOALS:<\/strong> RMC BEST: North Adelaide:<\/strong> E. Metcalfe, A. George, J. Parish, C. Hardin, L. Hoffmann <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sturt bounced back from an agonising Round 1 draw by defeating Glenelg in Round 2 of the SANFLW season. The Double Blues kicked away after an even first term to lead by 14 points at half-time and three quarter time before winning, 9.4 (58) to 6.6 (42). It was a shootout between Sturt’s Georgia King<\/a> and Glenelg’s Kiana Lee<\/a> who each kicked four goals, while youngster Madeline Nuss<\/a> kicked two for the second week in a row. Isobel Kuiper<\/a> (22 disposals, six tackles and seven clearances) was huge as expected for the winners, while Glenelg co-captain Asha Dufour<\/a> had 12 clearances from her 23 disposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n South Adelaide went two from two by quelling Central District in a rematch of the 2023 SANFLW Grand Finalists. The Panthers got up 5.6 (36) to 1.6 (12), shaking off the Bulldogs with three goals to nil in the second half. Top-age talent Hope Taylor<\/a> kicked three in the win, while fellow draft prospect Layla Vizgaudis<\/a> (25 disposals, three marks, four tackles and four clearances) was sensational once again. Holly Tralaggan<\/a> (19 disposals, seven clearances and five inside 50s) and Dakota Williams<\/a> (18 disposals, six tackles and five clearances) were the best for the Dogs around the ball.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The one-sided belting of the weekend was Woodville-West Torrens’ 83-point smashing of West Adelaide. The Eagles were much improved on their Round 1 draw, winning 13.11 (89) to 0.6 (6) against the Bloods at Richmond Oval. Klaudia O’Neill<\/a> slammed home half a dozen goals and took five contested marks from 11 grabs in a dominant performance for the Eagles, while Tahlita Buethke<\/a> and Alice Tentye<\/a> were busy across the four quarters. Reigning league best and fairest winner Zoe Venning<\/a> (27 disposals, six marks, six clearances and six rebound 50s) tried hard in defeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n
NORWOOD 3.1 | 5.2 | 6.3 | 7.5 (47)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Adelaide:<\/strong> Z. Molloy 2, C. Hardin, S. Hardin, L. Niejalke, T. Robins, P. Turner
Norwood:<\/strong> S. Simmonds 2, A. Baker, N. Burns, E. Clark, A. Gaedtke, C. Morgan<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Norwood:<\/strong> J. Halfpenny, L. Cocks, C. Morgan, L. Schwerdt, A. Baker<\/p>\n\n\n\nAROUND THE GROUNDS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n