VIDEO: The unbelievable 60-metre point that won Glenelg the SANFL under-18 premiership
THERE’S Grand Final heartache — and then there’s the pure disbelief and devastation suffered by North Adelaide in the SANFL under-18 final on Sunday.
THERE’S Grand Final heartache — and then there’s the pure disbelief and devastation suffered by North Adelaide in the SANFL under-18 grand final on Sunday.
Headed for extra time with scores tied at 55 apiece with just seconds remaining, the Roosters gave Glenelg a chance by allowing Toby Pink to mark the ball just before the final siren.
Still, the young forward was well outside the 50m arc at Adelaide Oval and kicking against the wind. Even his best kick was unlikely to make the distance and so it proved as his skied effort dropped well short of the goal line.
But then the unthinkable happened. North had 11 players stationed in the goal square barricading the ball from bouncing over the line. Two went for the spoil. One was shoved in the back by a Tigers opponent and fell over. The other could only deliver a glancing blow to the ball.
The punch provided enough of a deviation to send the ball trickling for a behind — and inexplicably none of the Roosters players were in position to stop it. Final score: Glenelg 6.20 (56) North Adelaide 8.7 (55).
“This is the most extraordinary thing I’ve seen in a Grand Final in my life,” former Adelaide Crows ruckman Rhett Biglands said in commentary for Channel 7.
“I cannot believe a North Adelaide player didn’t touch it. None of the boys will ever be a wicketkeeper for South Australia because it went straight through ... the crowd here were absolutely rattled. They had no idea what happened.”
North Adelaide coach Jason Blair was in a similar state of disbelief.
“It was such a bizarre thing to happen,” he said. “I thought I’d seen a fair bit in footy but this was something else.”
North had led by 14 points midway through the quarter before the Tigers — coached by former Crows star Tyson Edwards — charged home. Blair said it was a brutal experience for his players.
“I haven’t watched the replay because I don’t really want to,” he said. “All you can do is put your arms around them and tell them to use it as a learning experience.”