1st 2nd 3rd Final Pts
Norwood 2-3 3-6 5-9 8-11 59
North 4-2 4-7 6-10 8-10 58
Date: 18 September 2022
Win by 1 point
Best: Boyd Rokahr Heard Panos Seymour Nunn Richards Rantall
Goalkickers: Panos 2 Lowe Hamilton McLean M.Carroll Richards Jarvis.
Jack Oatey Medal: Harry Boyd
Game Review
Norwood went into the season following a mass exodus of star players. Michael Talia, Brad McKenzie, Mitchell Grigg, Dom Barry, Paul Puopolo, Cameron Shenton, Richard Douglas, Michael Knoll, and Zac Richards all departed the club. To cover for this loss of experience, Norwood were forced to experiment with 15 players making their debuts during the year, eight of which played in the premiership team.
The club took some time settling into the season, not reaching the top five until round 12. North Adelaide had been sitting atop the ladder for a large portion of the year. Having beaten Adelaide in the second semi-final, North went straight into the grand final. Norwood did it the hard way, losing to Adelaide in the qualifying final by 55 points, then victories over Glenelg (28 points) in the first semi-final and Adelaide (11 points) in the preliminary final.
Norwood had been boosted enormously with the impact made by Harry Boyd in ruck, and the assistance he received from Luke Surman returning to the club.
The game began with Matt Nunn winning the toss and kicking to the river end. As expected, the early stages of the game were tight until a fortunate soccer goal from North’s Minervini after three minutes. Surman took a strong mark, but Norwood’s first score was a behind. North converted a second goal from a mark and appeared to have settled the better.
Then Matt Panos gathered and snapped our first goal after 12 minutes. From that moment, North took slight control of the game and led by 19 points until Baynen Lowe kicked a vital goal late in the quarter to put Norwood back into the game. Both teams showing good skills in wet conditions.
Quarter Time: Norwood 2-3, North Adelaide 4-2
The second quarter was hard and tough with scoring at a premium and both defences on top. The only goal for the term was at the 18 minute mark when Ben Jarvis, working hard, hand-balled to Declan Hamilton for a snap goal from a tight angle. Norwood had lifted this quarter with Boyd powerful in ruck, Rokahr and Richards prolific in the midfield and Seymour strong in defence.
Half Time: Norwood 3-6, North Adelaide 4-7
After a tense opening to the quarter, Norwood started to get on top in general field play. Boyd was getting well on top in the ruck and Norwood’s defence held firm. At the eight minute mark, Kelly trapped the ball beautifully, hand-balled to Heard, on to Richards who roosted the ball long and McLean soccered a goal from the edge of the square.
Norwood were lifting and five minutes later Mitch Carroll snared a loose ball and goaled with a left foot snap which gave the Redlegs a four point lead. Norwood continued to pepper the goal but could only add three more behinds. There was a superb diving save by Cameron Ball saving a certain goal on the line.
Then late in the quarter, against the play, North Adelaide, after not scoring a goal since the first quarter kicked two goals just before the siren, the second from a dubious free kick after the goal had been given the all-clear. Surprisingly, Norwood found themselves seven points in arrears.
Three Quarter Time: Norwood 5-9, North Adelaide 6-10
Kennerley opened the scoring with an early behind, then Norwood had another snap that went out on the full, but the for the next 10 minutes North Adelaide gained the ascendency with goals to Andrew Moore at the eight minute mark after a strong mark and four minutes later, Aaron Young snapped a right foot goal from 20 metres to give the Roosters a 17 point lead.
Still plenty of time for Norwood to get back into the game, the next five minutes of play became a stalemate and scoring was difficult. Connor McLean had a shot but was unable to convert.
Then at the 17 minute mark, the game took a turn when Richards gathered the ball cleanly and booted a lovely goal on the run from 35 metres. Redlegs trailed by 11. Then Ben Jarvis was held without possession in a marking contest and scored a clutch goal from just inside 50; Redlegs only five points down.
North had a shot at the 22 minute mark but was unable to convert. ( A very popular miss with the Redlegs faithful! ) Heard’s opponent was able to get loose and turned for a shot on goal. Reminiscent of Danny Jenkins’ miraculous smother in the 1978 grand final, Sam Morris came from nowhere to smother what could have been a match winning goal. For the next few minutes North attempted to slow the game down and prevent a Norwood score and a couple of big marks by Harvey repelled Redleg attacks. Norwood wouldn’t give in and kept forging ahead.
Then it happened. Almost 27 minutes gone - a boundary throw in from the scoreboard pocket - Boyd got the tap - the ball deflected off a Roosters player into the hands of Panos who goaled with the left foot from 30 metres out. The “King” had done it again. Redlegs led by a solitary point but still had it all to do.
Both sides threw themselves into the contest. Two minutes after the Panos goal, the sweetest sound of all, the siren. Redlegs were premiers for 2022! A great game played in wonderful spirit all day.
Final Score: Norwood 8-11, North Adelaide 8-10
Coach: Jade Rawlings
Our team in the 2022 grand final was
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F
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B.Jarvis
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L.Surman
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J.Rantall
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HF
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M.Panos
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C.McLean
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H.Nelligan
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C
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J.Richards
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N.Rokahr
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D.Hamilton
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HB
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S.Morris
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J.Heard
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P.Seymour
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B
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J.Kelly
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C.Ball
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T.Donnelly
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Followers
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H.Boyd
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J.Kennerley
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M.Nunn (c)
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Interchange
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B.Carroll
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N.Lowden
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B.Lowe
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M.Carroll
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Page prepared by Graeme Adams, May 2023