North Adelaide has booked a berth in its first SANFL Grand Final since 2007 after out-muscling West Adelaide by 56 points in Sunday’s Preliminary Final at AAMI Stadium.
Rising from fifth spot on the premiership table, the Roosters were incredibly gutsy considering they had just 19 fit men for most of the match amid testing temperatures hovering around 27C.
Key midfielder Max Thring strained his hamstring in the opening minute of the second term while gun on-baller Jay Shannon battled on bravely for the rest of the match despite having a severely bruised hip.
The former Port Magpie could barely move after his collision with West’s Kurt Thompson in the opening term but still stayed out on the ground in a forward pocket to finish with 10 disposals and a goal.
“I really put it Jay Shannon and told him that we needed him out there,” North coach Josh Francou said.
“I know he took a nice mark and kicked a nice goal in the second quarter. To his credit he stood up and we still got enough out of him to contribute.”
North led by just two points at the first change after electing to kick into the wind during the opening term but gradually increased its lead after holding a 15-point advantage at the main change and a 28-point buffer at the last break.
Bloods defender Scott Bricknell gave West fans hope by kicking the first major after half-time, his long bomb from outside 50m putting his side within eight points of the Roosters.
But then North clicked into gear to boot four of the next five goals and stamp its authority on the contest.
Central District premiership star Chad O’Sullivan increased his output for the Roosters to finish with 26 disposals and two goals while Cohen Thiele’s first-half was outstanding before tallying 24 possessions and one major.
Delisted Power defender Nathan Blee used the ball well for North through the corridor, former Kangaroo Matt Campbell impressed with his run-and-carry while medium-sized forwards Leigh Ryswyk and Nathan Gordon had an impact on the scoreboard with three goals each.
Crows-listed Lewis Johnston started as a loose man in defence but used the ball with great efficiency and also managed to kick off North’s scoring with a 55m goal on the run.
While captain Ryan Ferguson fronted for West after overcoming concussion, the Andy Collins era at Richmond came crashing to an end.Seemingly demoralised from a severe Second Semi-Final loss to Norwood, the Bloods were unable to get back into the match after half-time.
Consistent forward Jon Beech (17 disposals and three goals) was West’s only clean ball-user throughout the afternoon as his team again struggled to find an avenue to goal.
Half-forward Taite Silverlock faded after a promising opening while key midfielders Travis Tuck and Chris Schmidt (seven clearances each) were two of their team’s better performers despite not managing to produce their best in the cut-throat decider.
The Roosters will face Norwood in next Sunday’s Grand Final at AAMI Stadium, the first time the two clubs have met in a title decider since 1960.
SCOREBOARD
North 2.6 6.8 10.12 16.16 (112)
West 2.4 4.5 6.8 8.8 (56)
BEST – North: O’Sullivan, Thiele, Johnston, Ryswyk, Campbell, Amato, Dalwood, Blee, Gordon. West: Beech, Silverlock, Tuck, Schmidt.
GOALS – North: Ryswyk, Gordon, Stewart 3, O’Sullivan 2, Thiele, Johnston, Dalwood, Langford, Shannon. West: Beech 3, Birss 2, R. Anderson, Bricknell, Tuck.
INJURIES – North: M. Thring (hamstring), Shannon (hip).
UMPIRES – Michael Avon, Corey Bowen, Rowan Hudertmark.
CROWD – 5221 at AAMI Stadium.
