Matthew Campbell kicks goal after the siren to snare win for Woodville-West Torrens over North Adelaide
WOODVILLE-WEST Torrens out-tackled North Adelaide 54-53 yesterday and it was that final, extra one that delivered the Eagles a two-point win after the siren.
WOODVILLE-WEST Torrens out-tackled North Adelaide 54-53 yesterday and it was that final, extra one that delivered the Eagles a two-point win after the siren.
North led by four points with five seconds on the clock when Matthew Campbell was caught holding the footy in his defensive goalsquare by Matthew Goldsworthy, who converted the matchwinner after regulation time.
It was a shining example of the Eagles' desperation led by a brilliant Jared Petrenko and Angus Poole, who threw themselves at everything all day.
"There were some really good desperate acts from a lot of players and that's what you build your foundation on," Eagles coach Michael Godden said.
"This is always the time that if you get good wins, it's massive at the end of the year."
But Godden was quick to remind his players the feeling in the rooms could have been very different - especially after they led for most of the day.
"We need to take that as if the siren went five seconds earlier because realistically footy can swing so quickly," he said.
"We'll enjoy that, it was a good win and we needed the two points but that's about it."
It would be unfair to blame Campbell for costing the Roosters the game because he was solid all day and his team-mates missed crucial shots on goal in the second half meaning coach Josh Francou was left to lament several poor decisions by his players.
"In that (final) scenario my initial reaction was why wouldn't you just get the ball through the goals?" Francou said.
"But I looked at the Cohen Thiele set shot, I'm not sure why you would pass off in that scenario, there was one from Ben Williams, a long, high hang-time (pass) to Max Thring and on three-quarter-time Clinchy tried to create the impossible instead of just kicking it. In context of where the ladder is at of course you're gutted."
Petrenko was outstanding for the Eagles, chasing, tackling and finding space on the wing and hitting targets with the footy.
Luke Thompson played one of his best games for the year in defence by shutting down Lewis Johnston and Nathan Gordon, while Patrick Giuffreda kicked three telling goals before being sent into defence in the final term.
Nicholas Amato was North Adelaide's best, winning seven clearances on a day when you needed tough in-and-under players, while Max Thring kicked three goals and Tim Delvins did a super job on Eagles captain Luke Powell.