Norwood coach Jarrod Cotton is confident his midfield stars will shine against Bulldogs in SANFL
Norwood coach Jarrod Cotton has backed his midfield stars to find their best form in the SANFL elimination final battle against Central District at Adelaide Oval.
NORWOOD coach Jarrod Cotton has backed talented trio Sam Baulderstone, Mitch Grigg and Matthew Panos to make a significant statement in the elimination final clash against Central District at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
The Bulldogs had control of the midfield when they beat the Redlegs by 82 points at The Parade in round 16, but Cotton said he expects Baulderstone, Grigg and Panos to respond to the challenge.
“For their standards, Sam, Mitch and Matt did not have the games they wanted against Central last time,” Cotton said.
“They are excited about the challenge and I expect them to bounce back.
“That was a disappointing game for us and when you have a bad game or failure of sorts, it is always feedback for you and you can learn.
“I watched that game against them and Central’s last game (against Woodville-West Torrens) and (Kyle) Jenner and (Trent) Goodrem tagged again that day.
“What we have learnt is what they have done structurally and their intent and hunger and pressure around the footy.
“We know that will happen, you expect it in a final.”
Cotton anticipates Bulldogs’ captain Goodrem and Jenner will again have tagging roles on his prime movers after being successful with the tactics in their late season form burst to jump into the finals.
“Anything is possible in a game of footy, but it worked well for them last time and they did it again against the Eagles,” Cotton said. “So I’m assuming it will happen agan.
“It is a matter of Grigg and Panos working themselves through that, playing good footy and taking the challenge on board. We will look at a few things we can do, and we have got to make sure we look after those guys.
“It is not just about Panos and Grigg getting the footy, the other blokes need to step up and play their role.”
The Redlegs have not beaten the Bulldogs in a final since 1997 when they claimed the preliminary final by 11 points before belting Port Adelaide in the grand final.
Cotton was a member of the Bulldogs outfit in that game and his memories from the contest were the shocking knee injury for former Redleg Paul McCormack and the “dust up” after Redlegs great Garry McIntosh belted Stuart Dew. McIntosh was suspended for a game and missed the grand final.
ELIMINATION FINAL
Norwood v Central District
Adelaide Oval, 12.10pm, Saturday
TV: Channel 7
Norwood
F: K. Roocke 2, C. Shenton 25, A. Forster 11
HF: M. Panos 4, B. Dawe 30, A. Wilson 20
C: A. Kirwan 38, M. Grigg 8, M. Nunn 14
HB: B. McKenzie 7, A. Georgiou 39, D. Terlich 10
B: B. Jefferies 28, P. Levicki 43, E. Smart 42
1R: S. Baulderstone 18, T. Webber 23, M. Fuller 36.
Int: P. Bampton 3, Z. Richards 1, H. Viney 13, C. Bartlett 6, C. Olsson 37
Central District
F: T. Schiller 28, J. Butcher 12, S. Milne 15
HF: K. Jenner 10, J. Hannath 33, J. Glenn 5
C: L. Habel 25, N. Holman 7, T. Goodrem 11
HB: S. Hanna 26, M. Stephenson 4, L. Barmby 44
B: D. Haydon 54, F. Fort 6, R. Llewellyn 49
1R: D. Fort 30, J. Schiller 38, C. Jansen 8
Int: C. McLean 39, J. Hoskin 20, K. Presbury 52, J. Waldhuter 3