Australian Football

Match Report

Thursday night saw an encounter between the Redlegs and the Roosters at Coopers Stadium on The Parade. After their Round 16 loss it was pretty much clear that North would end up with this season's wooden spoon, the Redlegs by this time had fallen to third on the ladder on the back of two consecutive defeats from South and the Crows. North's last victory against their closest league neighbour was back in Round 4 last year, the Roosters taking a 21 point win at Adelaide Oval on Anzac Day, which was followed by a 53-point defeat at Prospect Oval. The last time these sides met, the Roosters almost pulled off one of the upsets of the year but fell short by a kick in Round 8 at Menzies Crescent despite their superior accuracy. But there wasn't going to be any similar performance here, even though the Redlegs' goal-kicking left a lot to be desired.

The reigning premiers kicked 3.5 to the Roosters' 1.2 in the first term to be ahead by 15 points at quarter-time. More horrid inaccuracy plagued the 'Legs in the second term, but North wouldn't fare any better as the home side added 3.7 to 1.1 to stretch the gap out to 33 points by the long break. When play resumed, Norwood continued to pepper their goal, adding a further 4.5 to North's 1.2 as the deficit was lengthened to nine goals by the final change. Fans would be pleased with the eventual victory, but their goal-kicking would still be cause for concern coming up to finals, the Redlegs finishing the match with a 3.6 to 0.2 final quarter to notch up a 76-point win.

Matt Suckling was named best for the Redlegs, while the Roosters voted in Jay Shannon on a dirty night out.