Australian Football

Match Report

To kick off the Saturday afternoon action at the Adelaide Oval, the Elimination Final between the Redlegs and the Bulldogs. The sudden-death finals opener has not been a happy hunting ground for the Bulldogs, winning just one of the previous six appearances. Last year's capitulation to Adelaide was not without controversy, the league allowing the Crows to name a player that by their own ruling was ineligible. That player would end up being named best afield on the day, where they took a 12-goal win. Their single victory was against the Redlegs in 2015, a 44-point win that ended Norwood's 2014 title defence. Despite that, the 'Legs have played in more Elimination Finals that any of the other clubs, featuring in 17 games of which they have won 12. Their last victory was back in 2008 when they defeated the Magpies by 21 points but you can't think of Norwood and eliminators without mentioning 1984. To date, the Redlegs are the only team that have gone all the way from fifth to win a premiership, starting with their win against South Adelaide and finishing with bitter rivals Port Adelaide. The only team that has come close to that effort was the Magpies of 1998, but they came from fourth. No other side has come from these positions to win the premiership.

The Bulldogs were no doubt full of confidence after raiding the nest of the eventual minor premiers for a 20-point win, but only by the grace of West Adelaide and their defeat of Glenelg did they make it this far. The Redlegs on the other hand, after suffering a heavy defeat from the Dogs and the Magpies in consecutive weeks, forced a draw with reigning premiers Sturt at The Parade. Centrals started in similar fashion to their outing at The Parade recently, kicking 6.1 to the Redlegs' 3.2 to kick off the afternoon's proceedings and take a 17-point lead at quarter-time. The goals stopped for the Dogs in the second term, they were allowed just four behinds however the Redlegs couldn't take the lead thanks to a trio of missed opportunities. They kicked 2.3 to bring the margin back to a goal by the half-time break. A staggering stat for the first half was Norwood's marks, 54 more than the Dogs for a half of football, but efficiency was lacking. The Dogs were back to their best by the third term, although the two sides went score for score up for the bulk of the quarter, kicking 2.1 each up to the 20th minute. A further 2.2 in time-on saw the Dogs lead by 20 points at the final change. Centrals turned it on in the final term, the Redlegs wilting under the Bulldog onslaught as they rammed through 7.5 to 3.1 to win by eight goals and advance to next week's First Semi-Final. 

Nick Holman was named best for the Dogs, Brad McKenzie was voted best afield for the Redlegs.