SANFL Snapshot – Friday night

Sturt slogged its way to its first win against Norwood in three years when it eclipsed the hosts by 23 points at The Parade.

Snapping a seven-game losing streak against the Redlegs, the Double Blues claimed their first victory against their neighborhood rivals since Round 1 of 2018.

Even a scoreless final term couldn’t stop the visitors from shutting down Jade Rawlings’ men, who narrowly avoided posting their lowest score against Sturt, which was 2.3 (15) in 1919.

Clever Sturt goalsneak Josh Hone did well to trap the ball, break a tackle and nail a goal from close range before teammate Lachlan Burrows would stretch the margin to 15 points on the verge of time-on.

Burrows had to be stretchered from the field early in the third term after sliding into the boundary fence but that only seemed to galvanise the Blues, who piled on three goals in succession to open up a 32-point lead on the back of Abe Davis’ set shot from 25m in front.

It capped off classy finishes from Sturt wingman Steven Slimming and skillful forward Jordan Houlahan, with their goals featured in the clips below.

Norwood veteran Cam Shenton kicked truly five minutes into the fourth term to give his side a faint hope but it would turn out to be the last goal of the game as the hosts finished with four consecutive behinds.

The slippery and muddy conditions would not only ensure scores were low but also tackle numbers were through the roof as Norwood laid 146 to Sturt’s 122.

Double Blues’ midfield bull Tom Lewis racked up 23 to match the same number tallied by Norwood captain Matt Nunn.

Lewis also had 20 disposals and five clearances while Nunn racked up 18 possessions, four clearances and a goal as they imposed themselves on the contest.

Sturt skipper James Battersby and Abe Davis had 21 disposals each and 17 tackles between them while Joel Thiele made the most of his promotion from the Reserves to have 19 disposals, eight tackles and seven clearances.

Norwood’s Declan Hamilton chalked up 20 disposals while Mitch Grigg and Nik Rokahr battled hard for 19 possessions each.