Central District upset Norwood by 19 points at The Parade
NORWOOD was in form and heading to the finals with confidence, but Central District coach Roy Laird showed why he is an SANFL legend.
CENTRAL District coach Roy Laird has mastermined one of the most satisfying wins of his career just one week from ending his illustrious career with an upset of Norwood at The Parade on Friday night.
The Bulldogs, struggling near the bottom of the ladder, showed enormous spirit and guts to conquer inform Redlegs by 19 points.
The loss has cost the Redlegs any hope of a top three berth and may still need to beat West Adelaide in the final round to ensure a finals berth.
The Bulldogs had the territorial ascendency early, but could not finish their work in front of goal.
And they were punished when the Redlegs nailed goals courtesy of Peter Bampton and Dom Barry with their first two forays inside their attacking 50.
Although the Buldogs were applying tremendous pressure, they got hurt on the rebound and quick transition from the home side.
Justin Hoskin responded with the Bulldogs’ first goal, only for Redlegs midfielder Matt Nunn to kick two goals in three minutes to stretch his side’s lead to 16 points.
The enthusiasm and commitment of the visitors was evident and they wanted to challenge their opponents physically with a desperate attack on the body and ball. It was an approach which bothered the Redlegs.
The tackling and defensive work of the Bulldogs was relentless and it rushed the Redlegs into poor decision making and sloppy skills. The rewards for the tireless efforts impacted on the scoreboard with the Bulldogs building a 13-point lead at half time, although they wasted prime scoring opportunities.
Travis Schiller picked up plenty of possessions on the ball for the Bulldogs as is his game and Troy Menzel gave the side a dangerous option in attack.
There was no lack of heat in the contest with the two sides coming together for some push and shove after the half-time siren.
When the players returned to the field, Redlegs ruckman Sam Baulderstone tested his left knee with medical staff and he was noticeably limping in the warm up.
The Redlegs needed a response and they went on the attack in the third quarter, lifting the intensity and challenging the Bulldogs with increased pressure.
Not that the Bulldogs were not up for the fight and they were prepared to engage the Redlegs in a character-testing battle for the points.
Gun Redlegs onballer Matt Panos had more influence and the Redlegs were able to spend plenty of time deep in their forward zone.
CENTRAL DISTRICT 2.4 5.9 9.9 13.16 (94)
NORWOOD 4.0 4.2 9.6 11.9 (75)
BEST - Central: T. Schiller, Menzel, Patterson, Llewellyn, Habel, Barreau, Shaw. Norwood: Nunn, Barry, Baulderstone, Gerloff.
GOALS - Central: Menzel 4, Durdin 3, East 2, Jenner, Gillard, Hoskin, Barreau. Norwood: Barry, Nunn 3, Bampton 2, Panos, Wilson, Smart.
UMPIRES - Sboro, Burke, Philp.
CROWD - 2732 at Coopers Stadium, Norwood.