Hostplus SANFLW Prelim Final Match Wrap

By WARREN PARTLAND

Norwood will confront South Adelaide in the Hostplus SANFLW League Grand Final after conquering Glenelg by 19 points in an intriguing preliminary battle in testing conditions at Stratarama Stadium.

The Redlegs responded in emphatic fashion to a third quarter surge from the home side to dominate the final term and stay alive in the race for the flag.

And in a boost for the Redlegs’ hopes of conquering the minor premiers, the season finale will be played at The Parade in a twilight timeslot which requires television broadcast-level lighting.

The Redlegs scrambled into the finals, but have overcome Central District and the Tigers to give themselves a chance of securing a second premiership, having won the inaugural crown in 2017.

The platform for the victory was built in the second quarter on the back of a stunning goal kicking display from Kiana Lee, who bagged three brilliant goals in her 50th SANFLW League appearance.

Lee’s outstanding individual efforts backed up a highly productive minor round when she was the third highest goalkicker with 16.

While the Redlegs added 3.2 with the wind at their backs for the second quarter, they also kept the Tigers scoreless for the term. They repeated the feat in the final term when the game was on the line.

Staring down the barrel of defeat following Lee’s supreme performance, the Tigers took advantage of the wind in the third quarter with a fighting response to raise their hopes.

Although losing the hitouts, the Tigers had control of the clearances and inside 50m count. After missing several prime scoring opportunities, the Tigers bagged three unanswered goals to hit the lead.

However, the Redlegs hurt the Tigers on the scoreboard late in the quarter when Stephanie Simmonds took advantage of a rare attacking foray to snap a goal.

The visitors then shut down the Tigers in the final term, overwhelming the home side with their pressure and dominating territory.

The statistics truly advertised a terrific team performance from the Redlegs with Lee being the highest possession winner with 14.

As has been her way all season, Tigers onballer Jessica Bates amassed 33 possessions, kicked two goals, finished with 10 tackles and had 14 clearances.