SANFLW semi-finals: Norwood v Glenelg, West v South live streamed here from 4.15pm Sunday
The SANFLW minor rounds are complete and four teams are ready to battle for the flag. Click here to watch the Norwood v Glenelg and West v South semi-finals from 4.15pm on Saturday.
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Norwood is no stranger to the pressure of finals footy or how to win a flag.
The Redlegs claimed the inaugural SANFLW grand final in 2017 and earned a berth in the decider a season later before going down to South Adelaide.
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They have then gone on to play in the major round every year since.
This year, though, the side has had an overhaul with new coach Mathew Creeper entering and revamping the list.
Creeper has made the side even stronger and the Redlegs finished this SANFLW campaign top with a 9-2 record.
Their hopes of winning a second premiership starts with a semi-final clash against second-placed Glenelg at home this Saturday.
For the first time, their semi together with the battle between West Adelaide and South Adelaide will be live streamed by The Advertiser on Saturday from 4.15pm.
Norwood skipper Alison Ferrall said the club prided itself on making finals and winning them.
“It’s a huge achievement and to make finals every year is massive,” Ferrall said.
“We are a very successful club and very driven, so we are very excited to have another crack at it.
“The club has done a great club with getting Matt on board as well as some other new assistants.
“Taylah Jack our strength and conditioning coach is a huge reason why we have been so successful this year.
“With Mat doing a complete overhaul of half our list, bringing in a few juniors and developing them is also a huge reason why we have been successful.”
Ferrall did not feature in the Redlegs 2017 grand final win due to injuring the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee.
She did play in the 2018 flag decider but was desperate to be part of a winning one.
Ferrall said the live streaming of the matches would showcase SA’s talent.
Glenelg ended the minor round second and will make its second appearance in the women’s finals series, having made it in 2019 but just missed out last year.
Captain Ellie Kellock said players were keen to make their mark in the finals series.
“The girls are pretty excited,” Kellock said.
“In 2019 we only made the finals because another team lost and we won the last game so the way we’ve made finals this year feels like we deserve it.
“I’ve been at Glenelg for the full five years, I’ve seen the up’s and down’s so it’ll be nice to walk away with the cup in our hands.”
West Adelaide, meanwhile, will take on last year’s runner up South Adelaide in the second semi final.
South has also become a formidable force in the women’s competition having won two out of the past three grand finals.
The Bloods enter the game full of confidence, having beaten the Panthers twice this year — the most recent being a one-point victory in the final minor round last weekend.
West skipper Bec Owen said her side had some unfinished business after losing to South in the 2020 preliminary final.
“Last year, we really wanted to make the grand final and it was devastating to get that close but fall short,” Owen said.
“Hopefully this year we can get it done.
“We’ve managed to beat them (South) twice this year and on the weekend it was a very close game, hopefully this one won’t go down to the wire and we can finish a bit stronger.”
Owen said having the matches broadcast on advertiser.com.au would be a huge boost for women’s footy.
“I know there’s so many young girls who are new to football and they’re really loving watching, so as much as exposure we can get is great,” Owen said.
“If they can’t get to the games, for them to be able to watch it online is awesome.”
South’s Jaslynne Smith said the side took plenty out of last week’s clash with West and was ready for another battle.
“We probably didn’t play our footy for the first three quarters but we learnt that if we stay resilient we can definitely come home strong,” Smith said.
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“I guess as well, doing the simple things well works for us so we can’t over complicate things.”
Smith said the players were keen to contest another finals series.
“We are pretty pumped,” Smith said.
“We feel that we are ready and we feel we’ve got a talented enough team to do some real damage.
“I think (winning) for us would just be the cherry on top of a season that has taken a lot of hard work and it would be reward for that effort from not only our players, but also our coaches, support staff and the club.”
Saturday’s live stream will kick off with Norwood v Glenelg at 4.15pm before the West Adelaide v South Adelaide clash at 6.05pm.
SANFLW finals fixture:
Saturday, May 22
■ Norwood v Glenelg at Norwood Oval, 4.15pm
■ West Adelaide v South Adelaide at Norwood Oval, 6.05pm
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