Dogs fight valiantly, but go down to Norwood by three points in their SANFL round two game at Elizabeth

Central District were hoping to redeem themselves after last week’s 59-point loss. They did, but still went down valiantly to Norwood by only three points on Saturday

• Tigers take charge of Crows
• Eagle Lewis soars to 200 games
• Hansen finally back for Double Blues

Central District went looking for redemption after losing by 59 points last week, and boy did they reclaim some of their best footy, coming agonisingly close to pulling off an almighty upset against last year’s grand finalists Norwood at Elizabeth.

After being 41 points down at three-quarter time, the Dogs staged a valiant comeback to kick five unanswered goals and come within less than a kick with a minute left on the clock.

But in the end, the more efficient Redlegs’ won out and the Dogs went down swinging by three points 13.11 89 to 12.14 86.

While Centrals remain winless, Norwood are now breathing a sigh of relief to be two-and-zip.

Norwood coach Jarrad Cotton said the last quarter proved his side still has much to learn in the new 6-6-6 setups.

“We didn’t win a centre clearance (in the last quarter) and with the new rule, if you’re not winning clearance it puts a lot of pressure on your defence, so we couldn’t get our hands on it and slow the game down at all … they made more of their opportunities,” Cotton said.

“Our second quarter was elite and we controlled the game and moved the ball around really well. We’ll take the two points, but there’s a lot of learning to come out of it.”

The first quarter was a seesawing affair, with Redlegs stand-in captain Matthew Panos booting the first goal in the first 90 seconds of the match, but Norwood didn’t kick another major until the 23-minute mark, while Centrals dominated them.

In that 20-minute period, the Dogs kicked 3.4 — including two goals to Murray Stephenson — but then as quickly as their dominance came, it simply evaporated.

At the 23-minute mark, Redleg Cole Gerloff started what became a flood of Norwood goals and his first for the match (he ended with two), was also the first of eight unanswered goals for the half and Norwood went into the major break 33 points up.

Centrals coach Roy Laird must have given his players a rocket at half time because they came out and kicked the first two goals of the third term, but after that it was all Norwood.

But in a huge turnaround, their dominance faded completely in the last term and the Bulldogs staged a remarkable comeback, with Justin Hoskin and Kyle Jenner both kicking two for the term. But a poster to Stephenson (who finished with 3.4) in the final stages was a missed opportunity.

Norwood midfielders Dom Barry and Lewis Johnston were rampant and picked up 72 disposals between them, while Mitch Grigg pitched in with 25.

The Dogs received a standing ovation from the Elizabeth faithful with Jarrad Schiller leading the way with 28 disposals and Kyle Presbury with 27.

Laird praised his team’s “excellent spirit and good endeavour”, but admitted their season needed more than spirit: it needs a win.

“We were well below par for large periods of the game, so on one hand we’ve got a belief we can play good footy, but on the other we’re still searching for consistency,” he said.

SCOREBOARD

CENTRAL DIST.

3.4 3.6 5.9 12 14 86

NORWOOD

4.2 9.3 12.8 13 11 89

Best:

Central District: Presbury, Goodrem, Stephenson, Habel, Schiller,

Norwood: Barry, Johnston, Panos, Talia, Grigg, Bampton

Goals:

Central District: Stephenson 3, Hoskin 2, Gillard 2, Weaver, Schiller, Presbury, Jenner

Norwood: Bampton 3, Surman 2, Abbott 2, Panos 2, Gerloff 2, Stephens, Shenton