Weekend Regained

A fine footballing couple of days, one in which defeat stared closely at us but in which the Glenelg Football Club dug deep to find the riches of victory and regain a lost weekend: Glenelg v West Adelaide (SANFL Womens Grand Final) May 5, 2021; Glenelg v Norwood at Norwood Oval, May 6, 2021.

THE GRAND FINAL

The Glenelg Ladies’ Team [Can one still say ladies? – Ed.] took on tough opponent West in the Grand Final at Thebarton Oval, looking far more picturesque than we remembered it. The Women’s competition seems entirely admirable: the players are tough and committed, and several players can mark the ball brilliantly (see below) – obviously improvement is needed in general ball movement and kicking.

Glenelg were the better team all day – it kicked the first goal and was never headed – but the back-and-forth state of the game meant scoring was limited, such that anyone could win until near the end. It was a dour struggle: no goals at all in the third quarter, and West couldn’t buy one throughout the last half. In the final quarter, West couldn’t go forward at all: the Tigers scooped up contested possession and controlled play without being able to kill off their opponents – until the final minutes, when best on ground follower Ebony Marinoff kicked the sealer:

2 goals apiece to E Marinoff and J Searle, 1 to J Bates.

The team was: M Affolter, L Armitage, J Bates, A Bradley, L Chigwidden, G Duffy, L Earl, S Franson, M Freeman, M Girvan, S Goodwin, C Gould, M Green, S Howell, E Kellock, T Kohn, E Marinoff, T Morriss, C Packer, L Searle, C Swanson, B Tonon, E Tyminski, S Wilton, and P Window.

Congratulations Girls!! [Can we call them that? – Ed.]

Glenelg 5.10 (40) West Adelaide 2.5 (17)

ROUND 9 Norwood v Glenelg

The men’s league team cheered their female colleagues at the Grand Final on Saturday; had they celebrated a tad too much?  We had marked the game at Norwood as a danger; those fears were realized when the Redlegs touched us up in the first half, kicking 8 goals to 2. Actually, we withdraw the charge of lethargy, which is unfair: the Bays were trying, they just weren’t succeeding. The Norwood players were ferocious, their pressure not giving our players any room or oxygen, and their old hands – Mitch Grigg, Matthew Nunn, and Richard Douglas – were dominant. In the 2nd quarter, Luke Reynolds snapped a good goal from a rare foray into attack, at the 10 minute mark. From that moment, until half time, Norwood scored 9 times and we didn’t score at all. Thankfully, inaccuracy left the door slightly ajar, as the Legs kicked 5.7 for the quarter.

When Grigg kicked his 3rd goal 4 minutes into the second half, Norwood led by 47 points and Tiger fans were mentally packing up. But this team is pretty special, and also, Norwood are, in Churchillian terms, ‘a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.’ They seemed to stop, and Glenelg got going. Suddenly, mid-fielders Snook and Partington took advantage of a leading performance in ruck by Jack Hannath to drive forward, and our forwards put their hands up, figuratively and literally. 5 goals in 15 minutes set the game alight; when Partington created an opportunity from pressure and goaled, putting us within 16 points, you sensed something special was unfolding.

The final quarter was full-on. Norwood snapped out of its funk but couldn’t score a goal. In a five minute burst, goals to Liam McBean, Reynolds and Toby Pink put Glenelg in front for the first time since the opening minutes. From then on it was all Norwood – they desperately sought to regain the lead but equally determined work in defence, especially from Sam Durdin, had us 1 solitary point in front when the bell tolled.  This was a famous victory and a “gut-wrenching” loss for the home side (as their coach put it).

Glenelg 10.8 (68) Norwood 9.13 (67)

[Pictures and video thanks to the SANFL]