South Adelaide upsets Norwood in SANFL clash at Noarlunga Oval
SOUTH Adelaide will enter the finals confident after bringing an end to Norwood’s winning streak and knowing it has beaten the other four teams.
SOUTH Adelaide defender Tyson Brown has escaped structural damage after a sickening head clash which held up the game against Norwood for almost 30 minutes at Noarlunga Oval on Sunday.
Brown was convulsing on the ground immediately after the blow in the opening minutes of the third quarter before having his neck placed in a brace and being taken to hospital in an ambulance. Panthers officials said Brown had severe concussion and he is in serious doubt for the elimination final contest against North Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
Incredibly, the quarter went for 58 minutes with 37 mins 53 secs of time on because of Brown’s injury and 10 goals being kicked for the quarter.
The injury soured a superb 26-point upset victory for the Panthers which snapped a 13-game winning streak by the Redlegs, the white-hot premiership favourite.
The Panthers can enter the finals buoyant in the knowledge they have conquered the other four teams.
“The boys are playing with a lot of confidence and enthusiasm which is half the battle,” Panthers coach Jarrad Wright said. “They are cracking in at all the one-on-one contests and our ball movement was exceptional.
“After the stoppage for Tyson the game could have gone either way. They kicked a couple of goals and we looked out of the game mentally.
“We showed good maturity and steadied the ship. It takes 21 contributers and we had that.”
The Panthers used the ball with tremendous conviction and put plenty of heat on the Redlegs to grab the ascendancy in the second term.
The composure of the home side was best advertised by defender Joe Haines, who has taken his game to new levels with his ability to nullify opponents and provide damaging rebound.
And the Panthers needed to be composed because the Redlegs, now with a reputation for quick scoring, came at them strongly in the third quarter to close within two points.
Then there was defender Matt Rose’s smother of a Lewis Johnston kick two minutes into the final quarter. It was those moments which set the tone.
“You never want to lose, but it is more about the way we played and we did not put enough pressure on the opposition,” Redlegs coach Jarrod Cotton said. “The uncontested possessions was way too high.
“It is a hard game for the players to get up for mentally when there is technically nothing up for grabs. It can change your mindset.”
SCOREBOARD
SOUTH ADELAIDE 4.2 7.7 14.8 16.11 (107)
NORWOOD 4.1 6.4 10.6 12.9 (81)
BEST - South: Davis, Haines, Brooksby, Cailotto, Summerton, Fields, Rose. Norwood: Nunn, Smart, Phillips, Abbott, Grigg, Georgiou.
GOALS - South: Haren 4, Szust, Rankine, Fitt 2, Brooksby, Davis, Heaslip, Kreuger, Overall, Fields. Norwood: Surman 4, Phillips 2, Bampton, Grigg, Hamilton, Abbott, Nunn, Shenton.
INJURES - South: Brown (concussion).
UMPIRES - Bowen, Hundertmark, Bennett.
CROWD - 1928 at Hickinbotham Oval, Noarlunga.