Sturt shows character to upset North Adelaide at Unley

OLD fashioned guts and a will to win have propelled Sturt to an 18-point upset victory over the Roosters at Unley.

Sturt's Angus Kurtze is tackled by North Adelaide defender Todd Miles.

OLD fashioned guts and a will to win have propelled Sturt to an 18-point upset victory over North Adelaide in an entertaining contest at Unley on Saturday.

The Double Blues showed tremendous character to fight off the challenge from the second-placed Roosters and grab their sixth win for the season.

The triumph continues the roller-coaster ride for the Double Blues this season but they have now climbed to equal sixth on the ladder. Norwood is all but assured of the minor premiership following the loss by the Roosters, who have put their hopes of the double chance at risk following their second successive defeat.

"We set ourselves to be competitive and make it a contest," Double Blues coach Seamus Maloney said.

"There was a real look in the eye in the group and they hung in there.

"The most pleasing aspect was the guys stuck to the gameplan."

The Roosters conquered an uncompetitive Double Blues by 76 points in round 12 and the visitors went into the contest a warm favourite.

Both sides attacked the contest with serious intent and a desire to be involved in the heat of the action.

Rooster Chad O'Sullivan was the first player onto the highlights package when he run onto the ball deep in the pocket, took a bounce and nailed the checkside kick for a goal.

At times, the home side allowed the Roosters too much space to operate and that enabled the visitors to have the momentum going into the second quarter.

Wingman Leigh Ryswyk, normally a reliable kick for goal, missed two comfortable set shots early in the second term and those moments seemed to stall the Roosters' accendency.

The Roosters became sloppy and were prone to panic under pressure, allowing the Double Blues to build in confidence.

The Double Blues have a habit of trying to be too cute, such as giving that one handball too many, and that again was an issue in the first half.

While O'Sullivan's early goal was superb, the towering mark by Sturt onballer Ben Kane late in the second term was even better.

The Double Blues had plenty of opportunities to create havoc but they lacked method moving the ball deep into attack and made life easier for the Roosters defence by bombing the ball deep into the 50m zone with little thought.

Desperation, especially at the stoppages, was the key ingredient for the Double Blues, and they grabbed their first taste of the lead 21 minutes into the third quarter when Tim McIntyre nailed his second goal in two minutes.

The Roosters briefly regained the front running courtesy of a Daniel Stewart goal five minutes into the fourth quarter but the Double Blues would not be denied.

Kane refused to yield to exhaustion, Michael Coad stood tall in defence and composed 17-year old James Battersby had AFL scouts licking their lips.

"There was a lack of competitiveness and the intensity at the footy has been down for the past couple of weeks," Roosters coach Josh Francou said.

"Last week (loss to Central District) I was angry, this week I am disappointed."

STURT 2.3 5.5 7.8 10.11 (71)

NORTH ADELAIDE 4.3 5.5 6.9 7.11 (53)

BEST - Sturt: Kane, Coad, Battersby, Greenslade, McIntyre, Harms, Tambling. North: Amato, Dqalwood, O'Sullivan, Miles, G. Thring, Shannon.

SCORERS - Sturt: McIntyre 3, Smith 2, Greenslade, Kane, Jaensch, Kerridge Battersby. North: Stewart 3, Campbell 2, O'Sullivan, Archer.

INJURIES - Sturt: Crane (corked thigh).

UMPIRES - C. Fleer, A. Crosby, C. Deboy.

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