Australian Football

Match Report

Down the Parade in Norwood at Coopers Stadium saw some Friday Night Mayhem between the Redlegs and the Double Blues. There was less than four goals between these teams last season, with the Redlegs taking both matches in Rounds 1 and 10 by gaps of 19 and 22 points respectively. Norwood only just managed to outlast a plucky Tigers outfit last Friday at home, while the Blues smacked the Bloods by 45 points at Richmond.

Despite that effort, the Blues first term was about the same as that against the Bulldogs two weeks ago and they found themselves down by 21 points at the first change after kicking an inaccurate 1.4 to the 'Legs 5.1. But just as they did against Centrals, they quietened the Redlegs forwards enough to reel the deficit back in to a single straight kick by the long break. The Blues' 3.4 to the Redlegs' 1.1 brought the gap back to one goal at the half-time siren.

The third quarter was mainly a wrestling match, not a lot of scores here but the action in between scores made for an interesting watch. The Blues would kick the only goals of the term and the Redlegs couldn't find the big sticks, Sturt taking a four-point lead into the final quarter after managing 2.1 to Norwood's three behinds. The Blues finally put their stamp on the match in the final term, having a flawless time in goal to bag five without a miss in contrast to the Redlegs' horribly timed inaccurate streak that saw them kick 2.4 as Sturt left with a three-goal win.

Zane Kirkwood was named Sturt's best afield, the Redlegs naming Matt Panos as their best.