Story of 78
Premiership Quarter
As the second half began, Oatey moved Bagshaw to the centre. Norwood again took the ball out of the pivot, as Nunan kicked to Taylor who was met heavily by Brendon Howard arriving late on the scene. The free resulted in a major from the Norwood captain. Bagshaw advanced shepherding Stasinowsky out of the way, allowing Davies an unpressured handball to Winter who again missed.
Danny Jenkins professionally fouled Heinrich whose kick slewed off the side of the boot and out on the full. The Sturt captain, Bagshaw, then bustled through a pack and in an uncharacteristic manner kicked sloppily: another out on the full. Norwood soon attacked. Double Blues' defender Peter Hargreaves quickly repelled the ball from Norwood's goal line and cleared to the eastern side of the ground.
‘The pace of the game has slowed already, it will be the survival of the fittest after 120 minutes,' warned Day.
Approaching the halfway point of the term Bagshaw led Stasinowsky to the ball, dodged to his right, bounced and then moved left in a manoeuvre which completely wrong-footed his opponent. The Norwood full back having temporarily forgotten his rule of 'watching Bagshaw's hips' was left helplessly in his wake. Bagshaw then demonstrated the perfect drop kick to Davies who used Kerley as leverage to mark, before goaling. It was Sturt's best passage of play for the day. ‘Sturt skills starting to come to the fore,' called Harrison.
Gallagher limped off. Turbill on. The signs for Norwood were ominous but they responded positively. Adamson was on his own to gain possession and goaled from 30 metres. Reed had followed the ball and not his opponent.
Heinrich was again brought to ground at half-forward, this time by Turbill. As the Sturt rover began cramping, Craig carelessly discarded the ball in Heinrich's direction. A 15-metre penalty resulted. ‘You wonder whether Sturt might now be in trouble with their legs,' said Day.
Almost as if he had heard the commentator's remark Heinrich kicked wearily at goal. Another miss. But Sturt retrieved the kick-out. Bagshaw passed to Trevor Sims whose ungainly manner masked the skills that made him one of the most effective ruckmen in the league. Sims' awkward kick found Davies who had out-positioned his opponent Button, now guarding him closely. Sturt's premier ruckman had injured his shoulder and was spending most of his time resting in the forward pocket.
Turbill appeared in the centre, desperately attempting to mark, only to be set upon by Klomp and Barton. His free kick, intended for Wynne on the western wing, overshot the mark. Hargreaves and Woodcock jostled for position. As the ball neared the boundary an unsuspecting Sanders was felled by Wynne with an elbow to the head. ‘There's no-one near the ball,' Harrison cried out.
As if on cue Chris Fienemann arrived and was hustled over the boundary line. Wynne then made a light-hearted attempt to elbow Sims and followed through into the Sturt coach's box. For a brief moment players and officials tangled. In a scene of high drama it appeared that Wynne had launched some kind of physical assault on the Sturt coach, Jack Oatey. ‘We've got a few problems here, very nasty scenes here in the grand final,' said Day.
During the ruckus Barton and Fienemann traded insults and shoves. The replay exposed the incident from ground level before a hand covered the camera lens. The viewer's perspective then shifted to one looking down on top of the box where Wynne was revealed at close quarters. Astonishingly he was calmly talking with an unsighted Sturt official. Umpire Mead finally removed the Norwood agitator from the scene.
The incident, which had taken everyone by surprise, was over as quickly as it started. Amid the turmoil Gallagher was back on the ground. Harrison observed, ‘Sturt remaining cool - the sign of a good side.'
The game resumed as if nothing had happened. Downes fumbled his third mark in as many minutes but was awarded a free. He kicked to Bagshaw who took the ball cleanly despite Von Bertouch's crude attempt to spoil. In response Bagshaw angrily lifted his knee only to find Craig and Stasinowsky applying physical pressure. As Davies appeared, Norwood's collective assault on the Sturt captain subsided.
Bagshaw in frustration scolded the rookie Downes by raising his hands firmly, indicating how to mark the ball. His kick then found Klomp, who kicked out on the full. Sturt 12 goals 21 to Norwood 8 goals 10.
Norwood attacked and Blues' backman Geoff Wiseman transgressed the defenders' golden rule under pressure by centering the ball. The Redlegs made the most of the opportunity. Turbill passed to Adamson, who was again on his own and kicked his fourth goal. After seven minutes of time-on the siren sounded.
Sturt had again failed to dictate the game on the scoreboard even though it had five more scoring shots. Sturt's 3 goals 6 to Norwood's four straight goals was an indication of its lost opportunities. The inability of Sturt to register more goals in the third quarter frustrated its final chance to take control of the game.
