Australian Football

Match Report

The last game for the weekend sends us to the inner southern fringes of Adelaide, through the leafy surrounds of Unley and to the Wigan Oval where the Double Blues hosted the Redlegs. The spoils were split between the two clubs last year, both with the away side taking the points. It started in Round 2 when the Redlegs won by 21 points at Unley, then the Blues took a 23-point victory at The Parade in Round 13. That game was marred by horrid weather conditions, the heavy rain making life difficult for both sides. The Blues' third term was the telling factor, kicking three goals unanswered before being held scoreless in the final term by a desperate Redlegs group who couldn't close the gap. Both teams were victorious in the previous week, the Blues downing the Magpies at Alberton by 13 points, while the Redlegs' road trip to Port Lincoln saw them smash the Bloods from The Last Post to pillar. The Blues by large ruled the opening term, only some inaccuracy prevented them being more than just two goals up at quarter-time, with the board reading 4.3 to 2.3. A little extra space was added to Sturt's advantage going into the changerooms at the long break, they scored a further 3.1 to Norwood's 2.2 to be up by 17 points at half-time. The Redlegs had more of the ball in attack during the third quarter, but making it count on the scoreboard was the problem as the inaccuracy bug crept into the Norwood camp at the worst time. They kicked 1.5 while the Blues added 2.2 to extend the margin out to 20 points by three quarter-time. Two of those behinds were rushed very late in the term, the possible one-kick margin going into the final change dashed by Sturt's defenders. The Redlegs kicked off the final term by chipping a goal off the Blues' lead, but that is as close as it got. The Blues would skip off to a 28-point win, finishing the afternoon with a 3.3 to 2.1 last quarter to take the victory. Abe Davis kicked six goals, but it was Patrick Wilson with his 27 disposals, his tackling and clearance work that saw him named Sturt's best. Nik Rokahr was named best for the 'Legs, with 36 disposals and 11 marks.