Third-placed North Adelaide no match for ladder leading Eagles in one-sided, 63-point result
The first-versus-third clash between Woodville-West Torrens and North Adelaide shaped as being a tight battle. It wasn’t.
IT shaped as being a tight battle that might determine top spot.
But today’s first-versus-third clash between Woodville-West Torrens and North Adelaide at Prospect Oval proved one-sided, as the Eagles triumphed by 63 points.
The visitors stunned the Roosters and the home crowd by booting the first five goals and seven of the eight kicked during the opening term.
The Eagles also slotted the first three majors of the second to push out to a 60-point lead.
North, which has been one of the stories of the season due to its massive improvement, looked nothing like a premiership contender amid the onslaught.
It was getting swamped with inside 50s, broke down defensively and constantly turned the ball over.
The Roosters showed some signs of fight late in the second term and kicked 4.5 to the Eagles’ 4.1 during the final quarter, but ultimately sustained their biggest loss of the season.
“The start obviously killed us and it snowballed from there,” North coach Josh Carr said.
“I thought at the start of the game our intent looked there then they got a couple of goals and we dropped our heads.
“We would’ve had 15 or 16 guys down last week (in loss to Sturt) and maybe more today.”
The Eagles had the game on their terms from the outset.
Their defensive pressure and zone trapped the footy in their forward line for long periods during the first half, while offensively, they shared the ball unselfishly and quickly.
Conversely, North made basic errors, dropping easy marks and missing targets.
A late spilt mark by Tanner Smith, which led to a classy left-foot goal by Louis Sharrad, summed up the day.
“We’ve got to get back to playing the tough brand of football we were playing before the last couple of weeks,” Carr said.
“The last two weeks has been disappointing.
“We’ve got to work our way through it.”
It is the first time North has lost two consecutive games this season, while Woodville-West Torrens has now won six in a row.
“I wouldn’t say it was complete because there’s always things a coach is not happy with but it was a really strong performance,” Eagles coach Michael Godden said.
“The scoreboard doesn’t lie.
“We’re building momentum.
“They’re having fun at the moment and they’re having fun by doing hard work … and today they certainly looked like they were enjoying themselves.”
Veterans Scott Lewis (36 disposals, seven inside 50s) and James Boyd (37 touches) found plenty of the ball, while Chris Hall (32 possessions) also had an influence.
Jack Lukosius finished with 14 disposals, eight marks and 2.1 on his return from the national under-18 titles.
Godden said he took a bit of a risk playing his straight after the championships and was proud of his effort.
“He worked really hard,” he said.
“We’re not going to rely on Jack … and he’s a bit of a luxury, I suppose.
“We’ll throw him around and he played up the ground a bit today, which he can do.
“We’ve just got to make sure he’s right at the right time of year.”
SCOREBOARD
EAGLES 7.4 11.8 14.12 18.13 (121)
NORTH ADELAIDE 1.0 3.2 5.5 8.10 (58)
BEST — Eagles: Lewis, Hall, Boyd, J. Hayes, Goldsworthy, Stewart, Haylock.
North: M. Thring, Allmond, Tropiano.
GOALS — Eagles: J. Hayes, Haylock 3, Lukosius, Sharrad, von Bertouch 2; N. Hayes, Comitogianni, Boyd, Gray, Goldsworthy, Stewart.
North: Hender, Harvey 2; Thring, Ryswyk, Barns, McDonough.
INJURIES — Eagles: Giuffreda (hamstring)
North: Nil.
UMPIRES — Bowen, Broadbent, Lewis.
At Prospect Oval