Norwood’s Matthew Panos named The Advertiser/SANFL Player of the Week

NORWOOD star Matthew Panos is rarely far from the heat of action had he again made a stand in the Anzac Day win over North Adelaide.

• Monday recovery: SANFL Round 5
• New league to break barriers

THE honour of playing on Anzac Day was all the motivation gun Norwood midfielder Matthew Panos needed for the clash against North Adelaide at Prospect Oval last Thursday.

In the lead up to the game, the meaning of the day and its relevance to the nation was discussed by the Redlegs.

The grand final loss to the Roosters last season was not mentioned. The team reflected on that performance in the week following the game before putting its energy into focusing on this season.

“Everyone knows the grand final result and what happened,” Panos said. “We hit the nail on the head soon after the game and put the focus into 2019.

“It was last year and you can’t change anything, but learn and grow as a player.

“The important thing was we were playing on Anzac Day and it is a special occasion, rather than being a grand final rematch.

“It is an honour to play. It is different to the AFL in that you get to play because you made the grand final the previous year. There is the last post, the minute silence and national anthem, it is an honour to play in the game.”

Panos is a driving force in the Redlegs engine room and he again stood up on the big occasion to pick up 27 possessions, kick 3 goals and have seven clearances.

It was an outstanding performance, so typical of the classy onballer, which earned him the Bob Quinn Medal as the best player on the ground.

“It is an honour to play in the game, to win the Bob Quinn Medal is special and something I will look back on when I finish my career and be proud,” he said.

“I had one of my better pre-seasons and was confident I’d put in the work. I’ve been drifting in and out of quarters a bit, but I’m mixing up my role a bit more than previous years.”

The unbeaten Redlegs’ next assignment is against the in-form Adelaide at The Parade on Friday night.

Panos, named The Advertiser/SANFL Player of the Week, described the contest as a big challenge and the players looked forward to testing themselves against the AFL players.