Norwood advanced to their 55th SANFL grand final with a big win over Central District, while Glenelg moved a step closer to a fairytale flag defence and abruptly ended Sturt's season.
Read all about it in this week's SANFL wrap.
Sturt 9.4.(58) def by Glenelg 14.5.(89)
Glenelg's dream of an unlikely premiership defence is still alive after producing a rampant final quarter to defeat Sturt by 31 points at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.
The Tigers are now through to next Sunday's preliminary final against the Bulldogs, with the winner to secure a grand final date with Norwood.
Meanwhile, Sturt has been bundled out in straight sets to seal a disappointing end to a terrific season that promised so much heading into September.
Going into the finals on a 13-game winning streak that saw them finish only percentage off the minor premiership, the Blues will be left to wonder what could have been as they faded badly in both finals.
Glenelg was hit with injury dramas just before the first bounce after defender Will Gould suffered back spasms in the warm-up, with Liam Wisdom called down from the grandstand to take his place.
Lachie Hosie's return to league football after a lengthy knee injury was put on ice after the sharpshooter went down with a hamstring strain before the match.
It was an evenly-matched contest for the first three quarters, with the margin not exceeding 13 points for either team as the lead changed eight times.
As was the case in last week's loss to the Bulldogs, Sturt ran out of steam in the last term, registering just a single behind to Glenelg's 6.2 as they looked powerless to stop the Tigers' ball movement.
The Reyno Show 😏 pic.twitter.com/eIMMDiaEgV
— SANFL (@SANFL) September 8, 2024
Despite recording a slight advantage in clearances across the day, Sturt struggled to move the ball with any fluency, particularly in the last quarter when they were ailed by poor skill errors and a lack of run from defence.
A high marking team for much of the season, the Blues were restricted to just 59 marks on the day as they were unable to create any space on their opponents or put any speed on the ball.
Glenelg's pressure at the contest was a feature all day and proved a telling factor as they forced Sturt into costly turnovers and caught their defence off-guard.
In an ominous warning to their fellow premiership contenders, star forwards Liam McBean and Luke Reynolds (both four goals) were influential throughout the afternoon, while Matthew Allen and Riley Holder (both two goals) played their part.
Max Proud (24 disposals and eight marks) was outstanding in leading the defence and seemingly impassable with his intercept marking.
He was well-aided by the rebounding presence of Nick Stevens (17 disposals and seven rebound 50s) and Jonty Scharenberg (21 disposals and nine marks), while Oscar Adams was resolute in blanketing Daniel Fahey-Sparks.
Unheralded Alex Martini again got the job done in quietening the dangerous Sam Conforti while also collecting 17 touches and eight marks of his own.
Cole Gerloff (19 disposals and six clearances) played one of his best games for the season through the midfield, while James Bell (19 disposals and seven tackles) broke the game open with his burst away from stoppage.
Matthew Snook (13 disposals and six tackles) was tough in the clinches as Chris Curran (20 disposals and one goal) used the ball well on the wing.
While neither hit the scoreboard, small forwards Archie Lovelock and Hunter Window worked hard up the ground to get involved in transition and applied plenty of pressure on the Sturt defence.
As they have been all year, Sturt's midfield trio of Tom Lewis (26 disposals and nine tackles), Will Snelling (26 disposals and six clearances) and James Battersby (23 disposals and seven clearances) were tireless as they battled hard at the contest.
Amos Doyle (32 hit-outs and five clearances) and Daniel Fahey-Sparks (15 hit-outs and five clearances) combined well in the ruck and controlled the aerial duel.
Luke Giacometti (14 disposals and five inside 50s) had several nice moments, while Steven Slimming (21 touches and five inside 50s) was stoic in his final game.
Josh Hone (two goals) and Connor McFadyen (two goals) were the main goal-scoring threats inside 50 but did not receive enough quality supply to make a greater impact.
Casey Voss (20 disposals and seven rebound 50s) continually launched the Blues out of defence, while Will Coomblas fought valiantly at the back.
Norwood 14.10.(94) def Central District 5.5.(35)
Norwood booked their place in the 2024 SANFL grand final with a comprehensive 59-point win over Central District in the second semi-final on Sunday.
After earning direct qualification to the semi-final and a week's rest as the competition's minor premier, the Redlegs started shakily as they made uncharacteristic errors with ball in hand.
Coming off an inspiring comeback win over Sturt in the qualifying final, the Bulldogs came out firing and applied relentless pressure at the contest, registering a 15-7 inside 50 advantage in the first quarter.
Norwood held up superbly in defence to limit the Doggies' scoring and go into the first break only eight points behind.
The Redlegs kicked into gear after quarter time and took complete control of the game, arresting the momentum at stoppages and moving the ball with devastating effect.
They booted the only five goals of the second quarter to quickly put a significant margin of 22 points on the board by half time.
Norwood are in cruise control 😎 pic.twitter.com/DnlgdzY2MW
— SANFL (@SANFL) September 8, 2024
Their dominance continued in the third quarter as they peppered the goals with repeat inside 50s but missed several gettable set shots to leave the door slightly ajar for the Bulldogs heading into the final stanza.
Any hope of another miraculous fightback was crushed as Norwood put on two quick goals to extend the lead to 46 points and seal victory.
After struggling for much of the first quarter, Norwood's midfield came alive after quarter time, with Billy Cootee (25 disposals and two goals), Baynen Lowe (22 touches and six clearances) and Mitch O'Neill (21 disposals and four clearances) proving too strong at the stoppages.
Newly-crowned Magarey Medallist Harry Boyd (47 hit-outs and 10 clearances) dominated the ruck battle again and got the ball moving for his team.
Jake Creswell (11 disposals and six marks) had some important moments working hard into defence and attack, capping off his good work with a strong mark and goal in the last term.
Tristan Binder (two goals) was a dangerous presence around goal, while Jackson Callow (one goal), Izaak Twelftree (one goal) and Finn Heard (one goal) made life difficult for their opponents with strong pack marks and follow-up work.
Tom Donnelly was superb in defence as he kept lively Dogs forward Aiden Grace to just one goal while repelling every Bulldogs attack that came his way.
Pierce Seymour (19 disposals and six rebound 50s) was a steadying influence at the back and made some crucial intercepts when the Redlegs were under pressure early.
Matthew Ling (20 disposals) provided plenty of drive from half-back, while Alastair Lord played arguably his best game for Norwood in collecting 19 disposals and blanketing Isaiah Dudley.
Central's defensive duo of Jez McLennan (19 disposals) and Rhett Montgomerie (13 touches and five rebound 50s) held up well under pressure and made several important intercepts.
George Kendall fought hard to keep Jackson Callow largely under wraps, while Brinn Little battled valiantly in the marking contests to get a spoil in and get the ball to ground.
Leyton Chisolm (17 disposals and six clearances) and Kade Dittmar (14 touches and seven tackles) were tough in the clinches and won some key contests early to give the Dogs early momentum.
Rookie Dyson Sharp (17 touches and five inside 50s) enjoyed a blistering first quarter before fading out of the game late, while Kai Pudney (19 disposals) worked hard across the ground and was prominent with ball in hand.