2024 Novita SANFL Wheelchair Football Grand Final Preview

By JORDAN ROUTLEY

Woodville-West Torrens and Norwood will be aiming for their first Novita SANFL Wheelchair League premiership when they face off in Friday night’s grand final at The Lights Community and Sports Centre.

With triple-defending champions Sturt missing the grand final for the first time, the competition will have a new premier after nine terrific rounds of action.

Desperate to atone for last year’s heartbreaking grand final loss, the Eagles went through the minor round undefeated as they swept all before them.

Woodville-West Torrens captain/coach Trevor Jarrett attributes the Eagles’ remarkable season to the continued improvement of his players.

“It has been a good effort by everybody and a lot of the guys have improved. We have trained regularly this season, so the guys have actually come a long way in regards to how they handle the ball and what the game plan is,” Jarrett said.

“We are a more unified team this year, so everybody is on the same page and out there to do what they need to for the club and the team.”

The Eagles have also benefited from a series of recruits that have added another dimension to the line-up, including young guns Cooper Spillane and Kane Downie.

“We have also recruited fairly well, so that has certainly helped to bring some young guys into the side.”

“It is amazing how much a bit of chair speed does, and these young fellas do have chair speed, plus their chair skills are way above what we are used to, so that speed makes an enormous difference in a game.”

Last year’s devastating grand final loss has been a driving force behind the Eagles’ motivation to go one better and take out the flag in 2024.

“The guys that were with us last year were definitely highly motivated, and I think that’s what has brought about getting some regular training in, doing some pre-season and improving our game,” Jarrett said.

Jarrett has enjoyed his first season as captain/coach, crediting his players for making the job easy for him.

“They have been so easy to coach and to talk to, and it doesn’t matter what the club or myself have asked any of them to do, they have done it,” he said.

Jarrett has also had Woodville-West Torrens’ senior women’s coach Narelle Smith by his side, which has been a big boost for the team.

“Narelle has been invaluable because she brings a different insight into the game, and because I am on the court, she sees things I don’t necessarily see,” he said.

Looking ahead to the big game, Jarrett has been keen to keep the preparation as normal as possible for his players.

“We did our last training on Monday night and we had a bit of a talk about the grand final but we are best to keep it under wraps and keep our normal routine,” Jarrett said.

“We have done everything right this season, so if we just keep doing what we’ve done in the nine minor round games everything will take care of itself.”

Despite beating Norwood in their three previous encounters this season, Jarrett remains wary of what the Redlegs can produce and anticipates a tough contest.

“They have had a good year considering previous years and they have certainly improved a lot, so they are going to be a worthy opponent.”

Norwood have made big strides this season, rising from a winless 2023 campaign to make their first grand final since losing the 2021 decider to Sturt.

Redlegs captain Grant Leonard has been pleased with his side’s progress this season on the back of some key positional changes.

“We have had Chris Simpson come over from Woodville-West Torrens which has given us some good stability in the backline, and that has allowed us to move Michael Neroni up forward with me and get a bit more strength in the offensive side,” Leonard said.

“I think the main goal for us at Norwood is that we have improved over the years and hopefully we are still on an upward trajectory, and the fact we are gelling together and rebuilding is great.”

Although Norwood lost all three matches against Woodville-West Torrens this year, the margins narrowed across the season, with the most recent contest decided by just 29 points.

“We see that as a positive factor and narrowing the margin is a win in some respects, so hopefully we narrow the margin even further and get the win, which is the ultimate result,” Leonard said.

“It is a massive challenge for us, as we know Woodville-West Torrens are an extremely strong side so we will have to be at our best to even have a chance.”

While this will be Norwood’s first grand final appearance in three years, most of the Redlegs’ current team played in that decider, with Leonard confident his team knows what to expect.

“We don’t want to change too many things and we’ll keep our normal processes intact and treat it as another game. It does have that extra flair to it and we know the challenge we have ahead of us on Friday night,” Leonard said.

As one of the players who took part in the inaugural grand final, Leonard understands the pressure that comes with the big occasion.

“Definitely there is a shift in intensity, it’s all or nothing and everyone puts everything on the line and there are no second chances, so we will take on that challenge.”

The grand final will get underway at 7:30pm, while Sturt and Central District will battle it out in the third-place decider at 6:10pm.

Entry is free for both matches and food and drinks will be available at the on-site cafe.

If you can’t make it to The Lights Community and Sports Centre, both games will be live-streamed for free on SANFL Now.

The fourth edition of the Novita SANFL Wheelchair League has been another tremendous success, with both grand final captains noting the continual improvement across the league.

“It is definitely becoming more competitive on-court and you can feel that every time you take the court and I expect that will be the same next year,” Jarrett said.

Leonard agrees and is encouraged by the continual growth in participation and the quality of each game.

“There has been a massive improvement and that’s what you want from your league, for all teams to get stronger and all games featuring high-quality players,” Leonard said

“All teams have had a new player or two this year which is exciting and we’ve got new people wanting to join up and play so it’s only going to get better.”