Australian Football

Match Report

Sunday afternoon took us into leafy Unley, the Double Blues hosting the Redlegs at Envestra Park. Just when people thought that the Redlegs had their early season stumble done and dusted after getting thumped by Centrals, the Blues would inflict loss number two on them on their home deck at The Parade, ending a seven-match losing streak that stretched back to early 2011. Sitting fifth with just four wins from nine rounds, the Blues were no doubt salivating at the prospect of a vulnerable Norwood even though they came out winners last weekend.

Nothing would be further from the truth when the opening siren sounded, instead of the Blues ahead in a two-number sum they would be up by just a point at quarter-time after kicking 4.2 to 4.1. After that, the Redlegs gave almost nothing away. Apart from some inaccuracy on goal, Norwood would kick ahead to a 14-point lead by the half-time break after scoring 3.4 to 1.1 in the second term. The brand of football that saw them take out back-to-back premierships was starting to show and it was more than a match for the running game employed by the Blues as of late. When play resumed, the two sides exchanged scores with a single missed shot by Norwood adding to their half-time deficit. The Redlegs' kicked 2.1 to Sturt's two goals to make it a 15-point gap at three quarter-time. It would be Norwood that took the points this time, keeping the Blues to just 1.3 whilst taking 2.3 for themselves to win by 21 points.

Matthew Panos was named best for the Redlegs, the Blues named 2014 Fos Williams Medal winner Zane Kirkwood as their standout.