Novita SANFL Wheelchair League Round 5 Match Wraps

By JORDAN ROUTLEY

Woodville-West Torrens 20.9.(129) d West Adelaide 7.2 (44)

Woodville-West Torrens maintained its place atop the Novita SANFL Wheelchair League ladder with a clinical 85-point victory over West Adelaide.

Bursting out of the blocks with seven goals to one in the opening quarter, the Eagles extended their lead at every break as their extra polish and skill came to the fore.

While West Adelaide remained competitive throughout the evening, they were no match for the experienced Eagles, who were able to piece together some impressive plays and capitalise on the scoreboard to great effect.

Adam Roocke was typically damaging for the Eagles in the centre, gathering 43 disposals at 88% efficiency while setting up 20 forward entries and 12 score assists.

Highlighting his impact on the game, Roocke also managed 13 intercept possessions and 14 hit-outs as he covered the court superbly to help set up numerous scoring chains for the Eagles.

Gun forward Trevor Jarrett was again a commanding presence up forward, bagging 12 goals from 33 disposals and 20 marks while also having an impact as a rover with five clearances.

Not to be outdone, Steve Edge benefited from the attention afforded to Jarrett to find plenty of space and score six goals from 15 disposals, while Isobella Nitschke contributed two goals.

At the defensive end, Soraj Habib used the ball nicely with his 20 disposals and made some important defensive efforts, while Wayne Hale often cleared the danger for his team.

Sturt recruit Hallam Chitty offered vital firepower in attack for West Adelaide and scored four goals from 23 disposals, while Giang Danh worked hard at both ends of the court to collect 22 disposals and two goals.

Darren Mysko competed strongly in the centre to claim 15 hit-outs and 14 marks as well as contribute in attack and defence.

Norwood 20.12.(132) d Central District 8.2 (50)

Norwood reclaimed second spot on the Novita SANFL Wheelchair League ladder with a crucial 82-point win over Central District.

Having lost to the Bulldogs back in Round 2, the Redlegs’ victory sees them replace Central in the top two as the race for the finals begins to heat up.

Going in without captain Shaun Whitbread, the Bulldogs clearly missed their star centreman as they struggled to move the ball with any fluency throughout the game.

Meanwhile, the Redlegs were ruthlessly efficient in attack, amassing 32 scoring shots from 37 forward entries as they moved the ball with great cohesion.

Former Bulldog Jamie Smyth was again the star of the show up front for Norwood, scoring 14 goals from 35 disposals and 18 marks as he worked hard to find space in attack.

Forward line partner Grant Leonard also got in on the act with six goals, along with 23 disposals, 17 marks and nine forward entries.

Rick Leonard (18 disposals, nine hit-outs and five clearances) was effective in the centre for Norwood and made some valuable contributions at either end of the ground with his height and marking power.

Nathan Simpson was resolute in defence with 19 disposals and 10 marks as he often repelled Norwood from the backline, while Michael Neroni worked hard to limit Stewart Webster’s influence with some terrific blocking and spoiling.

For Central District, Jason Tippins held up well in replacing Whitbread in the centre, tallying 20 disposals, 20 hit-outs and eight forward entries as he won some important contests and set up numerous attacks for his team.

Webster fought through some strong attention to score six goals as the main focal point for the Bulldogs, showing his class around goal with some quality finishes in front of the big sticks.

Henry de Cure worked cleverly into space on several occasions to score two goals, while Lloyd Banwell had some big moments in defence and often got the ball moving for his side with 18 disposals.