SANFL Round 17 Preview – Norwood v North Adelaide: Count Me In

Nothing like the traditional Thursday night split-round fixture between Norwood and North Adelaide at the Parade. Norwood, of course, was the pioneer of night football. In the 1950s VFL officials were coming along to watch exhibition games at the Parade. That we had to wait until the Victorians started playing at night for points before we gave it a go was very South Australian of us. Other great ideas stolen by the Victorians include Paul Kelly and the Grand Prix. Actually let’s just make it Paul Kelly; greasing the palm of an ageing alleged anti-semite just to drive cars around a lake is rubbish.

There has been lots of discussion over the last couple of weeks about the fall in SANFL crowds. That and the association fallacy of thinking that all booing must be racist if some of it is. These people must have great difficulty in telling the difference between dogs and cats. Not that SANFL crowds may not be an issue but some people are conveniently forgetting that it has been freezing and wet most days this winter. You don’t have an antarctic vortex every year which is just as well because they make for terrible guests, but impressive gusts.

Not to mention that last week the Power were playing at the same time as the Magpies and the week before the AFL Crows started before three quarter time of the Redlegs/Crows game. That must have been why Matt Jaensch had a crack at Norwood fans during the game – because there weren’t any Crows fans there for him to base a comparison. Regardless, best not to have a go at the people that have actually rocked up and paid for their tickets, Matt.

To the game at hand, Norwood is smarting after its loss to the bigger, quicker and more efficient Crows and will be desperate to stay in the race for the top three which until recently seemed a certainty. Injuries have hit hard and it’s not clear how long the wait will be for Newton, Suckling, Phillips and Bartlett.

North Adelaide wishes it had Norwood’s injury list. The Roosters currently have 19 players on their list so it’s no surprise they have struggled to be competitive, giving more chicks a run than they’d like. They stayed with Port Adelaide early on Saturday but were soon overwhelmed, losing by 10 goals. Their undermanned midfield will struggle to contain the likes of Baulderstone, Webber, Panos and Allan (who is due a good game against his old team).

As with previous weeks, the challenge for Norwood will be to kick a winning score with its unbalanced forward line. We could be in for an ugly encounter if North seek to exploit this by clogging up Norwood’s forward 50 and trying to catch them on the rebound (which is what I’d do if I was North’s coach. My application is in the mail). North will be seeking to run and gun at every opportunity, just don’t hold your breath for a beautiful game. But, hey, it’s Thursday night, there’s stout on tap on the hill. Get down there and enjoy some local footy. Count me in. Prediction: Norwood by 25-36

About Dave Brown

Upholding the honour of the colony. "Play up Norwoods!"

Comments

  1. Mark 'Swish' Schwerdt says

    a-one a-two a-one-two-three-four

  2. Dave Brown says

    Thanks Swish. What I didn’t really cover is that the ‘count me in’ is reference to this being the inaugural Count Me In match to raise awareness for people with a disability. Redlegs premiership player Rick Neagle is the President of Dignity for Disability (his son has autism) and funds will be raised for Autism SA on the night. Even more reason to get down there and enjoy a Black & Tan: http://www.sanfl.com.au/news/sanfl_news/3111/

  3. Mark 'Swish' Schwerdt says

    Suitably chastened Dave.

    If anyone sees Rulebook there, all the more reason to buy a raffle ticket or three.

  4. Malcolm Ashwood says

    Guys while I loved Rick Neagles 6 goals in the 82 SANFL GF I am genuinely in awe of what Neags does for the disabilty sector in general and with his son,Mitchell obviously more important than the game
    Dave spot on re crowds

  5. Rick Neagle says

    Thanks for the supportive comments above. Tonight’s COUNT ME IN round of SANFL football. is to create awareness around autism and the broader disability sector. It is not a fundraiser nor a charitable event – people with disabilities do not want charity nor do they want welfare. They want to gain meaningful employment, to seek opportunities to education and support processes to gain independence and inclusion in their communities. Please spare your monies and empower others in mainstream communities by simply talking to your mates, your family members and anybody who is interested. Aim to speak to say 5 of your contacts and tell them to speak to 5 of their mates. This will empower people with disabilities and yheir carers.

    Everyone has an opinion on the recent Adam Goodes affair. Regardless of your own take on this issue, Adam Goodes has had a divisive effect on people’s views in this space, from all corners of our nation. The AFL has supported indigenous rights and it has made an enormous positive difference to the plight of our indigenous friends. My only comment is to take stock and turn the conversation on to our most vulnerable citizens, ‘our forgotten people’ hidden in mini institutions – people with disabilities.

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