FootyGoss :: SANFL

Woodvile-West Torrens show direct way to win

Woodville-West Torrens registered its first win of the year with a hard-fought 35-point victory over Norwood at Norwood Oval on Friday night.

Two sides struggling to find form opened the encounter with intent going goal-for- goal till midway through the first term when the Eagles players began to find room and with direct ball movement had manufactured a handy five-goal lead by quarter time.

The Redlegs continued to be their own worst enemy in the second quarter as Woodville-West Torrens took advantage of Norwood’s wasteful use of the ball. Both sides attack on the ball could not be questioned but the Legs regularly made it hard for themselves by playing too wide and allowing the Eagles to run the corridor.

The desperation of the two sides lifted even further after the main break and Norwood began to go direct, which placed pressure on the Eagles’ defence. The Redlegs had two focal points in Jamie Vlatko (6.2) and Taylor Walker (4.4) which were proving difficult to handle. Seventeen year-old Crows youngster Walker was extremely impressive on debut.

However, the Eagles were able to maintain a 23-point buffer in a tit-for-tat third quarter. Woodville-West Torrens had their own twin towers up forward with Mark Passador (5.2) making a valued return to the seniors and Power rookie Nick Salter (4.2), while Luke Powell was prolific with 28 possessions

Norwood never wavered and got to within two goals midway through the final term before a costly indiscretion by defender Stuart Bown gifted Eagles Adam Grocke a second goal from a free kick after a scuffle broke out following Grocke’s first goal. This ended the Legs challenge and the Eagles were able to stretch the margin out to 35 points with late goals.

The Eagles also kept intact their strong record at Norwood Oval, claiming their seventh consecutive win at their opponent’s home ground, 21.10(136) to 14.17 (101).

Stephen O’Loughlin