Norwood stuns North with grand final heist
Norwood has won its 31st SANFL pennant, stunning minor premier North Adelaide with a one-point grand final victory at Adelaide Oval.
Norwood's Matt Panos celebrates after kicking the winning goal in the grand final. Photo: SANFL.
The win avenged the Redlegs’ upset defeat to the Roosters in the premiership decider four years ago.
Norwood booted the last three goals of the game in the final 10 minutes to break North Adelaide hearts with Matt Panos’s 20-metre snap at the 26-minute mark the killer blow.
The Redlegs won 8.11 (59) to 8.10 (58) to claim their first premiership since 2014.
Panos, 31, who only returned to the game in round 8 after missing 628 days battling a career-threatening knee injury, couldn’t believe his fairytale finish.
“That feeling after the goal is probably something that will never happen ever again. It’s a dream come true for this to happen,” he said.
Earlier, North had looked likely winners having led for most of the day and establishing a 17-point final quarter lead with Magarey Medallist Aaron Young’s goal after 12 minutes.
But the Redlegs refused to lie down, spurred on largely by Jack Oatey Medallist, ruckman Harry Boyd, who finished the day with 20 possessions, seven marks and an astonishing 64 hit-outs.
Club champion and 1981 Magarey Medallist Michael Aish declared after the game Norwood’s triumph the greatest he’d seen, evoking comparisons with the remarkable one-point win against Sturt in the 1978 decider.
Norwood coach Jade Rawlings ran to his players, mouth wide open in disbelief, when the siren sounded.
The Redlegs won just four of their first nine games this season, spending much of it outside the top five.
And they suffered a 55-point thrashing at the hands of Adelaide in the qualifying final just three weeks ago.
“I was going through it last night, how many times we’ve been behind in the finals and it’s been every game,” Rawlings said.
“This club, the trademark is Fortis in Procella, strength in adversity, and you can either have it as words on the wall or you can live it.”
He said a team resolution after that qualifying final defeat was pivotal.
“It was more about a way of playing, behaving and committing to each other.
“This group, they’ve committed to a way of playing, and a way of being a team-mate and a way of training.”
Defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for North Adelaide which went into the match warm favourites, won clearances by 10 and shaded the inside 50 count by 54 to 51.
