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Crows teenager stars for Norwood

Norwood has defied the odds to topple the highly-fancied Port Adelaide Magpies by 21 points in the SANFL elimination final at Adelaide Oval on Sunday in front a 15,825-strong crowd.

It was the first time the Redlegs had played in the major round since 2002 and as hungry as their fans were, the players matched it and took that hunger to another level.

With just 19 fit men – Sydney recruit Matthew Davis (concussion) and resolute Nick Duigan (hamstring) were sidelined – for the second half, Norwood showed a tenacity it has not revealed for a long time.

The Magpies prowled their wounded opponent in the third term, hitting the front 16 minutes in, but the Redlegs, led superbly by skipper James Gallagher (38 possessions), responded to kick six of the next seven goals in the premiership quarter.

Port, charged up to honour club legend Bob Quinn who passed away on Friday, hit back again with three consecutive goals to open the fourth term, arresting the momentum.

Norwood were soon reduced to no fit men on the bench with Crows-listed Aaron Kite (concussion/jaw) carried off on a stretcher and the five-minute delay seemed to play into the Magpie’s hands.

Then when forward Daniel Hargraves converted seven minutes in to reduce the gap to just seven points, it looked like Port Adelaide would simply run away with the contest.

The Magpies though were to add just one more behind, while a brave Redlegs through Adam Cockshell and Josh Donohue iced the contest with consecutive goals.

However, the big talk of the day was the sensational performance from 18 year-old Adelaide Crow Taylor Walker who finished with 24 possessions, 11 marks and 7.3, and displayed every bit of his unique talent to be seen on the AFL stage in 2009.

The 18.11 (119) – 15.8 (98) win was also a league-high 12th elimination final triumph for Norwood, which now faces Sturt in the first semi-final with added confidence next Sunday.

Stephen O’Loughlin/The Advertiser