Central District thumps Norwood by 76 points in SANFL round 16 action
CENTRAL District has kept its faint SANFL finals hopes alive with a resounding 76-point thrashing of high-flying Norwood at the Parade.
CENTRAL District began Saturday with its finals hopes all but gone.
It finished the day clinging to the faintest of post-season dreams after thrashing high-flying Norwood by 76 points at The Parade.
The Bulldogs were hungrier, quicker and cleaner with the ball as they moved to within two victories of fifth-placed Glenelg with two minor round games remaining.
Inspired by Luke Barmby (30 disposals, three goals) and Nick Holman (30), as well as big man Darcy Fort (24 disposals, two goals), Central prevailed on the back of a five-goal-to-none opening term and a seven-goal-to-one third.
Coach Roy Laird said the triumph – the Bulldogs’ third straight win at Norwood Oval – was his side’s best display of an inconsistent season.
“We’ve played some high quality footy, but not for four quarters like we did today,” Laird said.
“Although we kicked a good score, it was on the back of good physicality.
“We’ve got to learn and ensure everybody knows that’s the brand of footy that wins you games.”
Central stormed out of the blocks against the lacklustre Redlegs to build a 31-point quarter-time lead.
The excellent Travis Schiller (26 disposals, 14 tackles) finished accurately on the run, before Luke Habel goaled after a swift counterpunch.
Barmby booted two majors in the space of five minutes and Justin Hoskin converted from close range to continue Central’s dominance.
Kyle Presbury (three goals) was on target early in the second term for the Bulldogs, but Brady Dawe finally got the hosts on the board with back-to-back majors.
Sam Hanna and Fraser Fort, with a beauty from outside 50, gave the Bulldogs a 27-point buffer at the main break.
Central iced the result in an outstanding third period.
The gallant Matthew Nunn’s goal was the only respite for the Redlegs as Barmby, Presbury, Darcy Fort, Chris Jansen, Hoskin and Sam Milne put Central out of sight.
Jack Hannath rubbed salt into the Norwood wound with a 60m long bomb.
The heavy defeat dented the fourth-ranked Redlegs’ hopes of the double chance ahead of next Sunday’s clash with second-placed Port Adelaide at Alberton.
“You could sort of tell in the first 10 or 15 minutes that they came to play and we didn’t,” Norwood coach Jarrod Cotton said.
“They out-hunted us at the footy, their tackle pressure was really good and their workrate and spread from stoppage was just so much better than ours.”
SCOREBOARD
Norwood 0.2 3.7 4.9 8.12 (60)
Central District 5.3 8.4 15.7 21.10 (136)
BEST - Norwood: Nunn, Terlich, Shenton, Panos, Grigg. Central: Barmby, D. Fort, Holman, Jansen, T. Schiller, Presbury, Jenner, Goodrem.
GOALS - Norwood: Dawe, Olsson, Panos 2, Bampton, Nunn. Central: Barmby, Presbury 3, Hoskin, D. Fort, Hanna, Glenn 2, Jansen, F. Fort, T. Schiller, Goodrem, Habel, Milne, Hannath.
INJURIES - Central: McKenzie (knee).
UMPIRES - R. Hundertmark, G. Lewis, S. Hosking.
At Norwood Oval