By James Woite.

 

The brief

The Norwood Flames (19-4) will play the Sturt Sabres (15-10) in the 2015 Premier League Men’s Grand Final. The Sabres have never beaten the Flames in a Grand Final. The 2009 Grand Final was the only time these franchises have met on the final day of the season.

The story so far

The Flames have been a top two side virtually all season. Despite going 0-2 against Woodville, the Flames won enough games to snatch the Minor Premiership. The Flames then beat Woodville in the Second Semi Final, enabling them to advance straight through to the Grand Final.

The Sabres sat just 3-7 after 10 games, but won nine of their last 12 regular season games to earn the fifth seed. Despite a combined 1-6 record against North Adelaide, West Adelaide and Woodville during the regular season, the Sabres defeated all three clubs in their own buildings to make it to the season’s final day.

The series summary

In the final 15 secondson April 17, the Sabres missed three treys that would have sent the match to overtime, losing out to the Flames 93-96.

On July 4, Jacob Holmes made a trey with eight seconds remaining to send the game to overtime, where the Flames eventually triumphed 101-92.

The Sabres lost the series 2-0, despite leading at ¾ time of both matches.

 

The series scoring leaders

Clinton Reed, Sturt: 24 ppg

Andrew Webber, Norwood: 21.5 ppg

            Matthew Lycett, Norwood: 20 ppg

            Tim Klaosen, Sturt: 20 ppg

The series rebounding leaders

            Jan Warbout*, Sturt: 10 rpg

            Tim Klaosen, Sturt: 9.5 rpg

            Jacob Holmes, Norwood: 9 rpg

            Daniel Webber, Norwood: 8 rpg

            *Warbout missed the April 17 meeting

The why Norwood will win/Sturt will lose

History says that the premiership cannot be won from fifth. Of the last 11 teams to finish the regular season in fifth place, only the Sabres have made the Grand Final. Of the last 22 Elimination Finalists, the Sabres are just the second to make it to the Grand Final – the other being the fourth seeded West Adelaide side of 2014. During the same time in women’s basketball, the fourth seeded Forestville side of 2011 are the only Premier.

The why Sturt will win/Norwood will lose:

Grand Finalists just do not seem to respond well to a week off. Eight of the last 10 Second Semi Final winners have lost the Grand Final a fortnight later. The Sabres have been settled into a regular routine, while the Flames have played just once since the opening day of the month.

The have you ever seen Norwood win the league?

The Flames’ last Premiership was in 2009, when they beat the Sabres 94-84. It was their second Premiership in two seasons, having also achieved the ultimate success in 2008. In recent times, they were second best in 2011 and 2007.

The have you ever seen Sturt win the league?

The Sabres’ last Premiership was in 2010, when they beat West Adelaide 91-82. This is their third Grand Final in the last decade, having lost the 2012 and 2006 Grand Finals.

The omen(?)

Bruce McAvaney regarding the fifth-seeded Adelaide Crows at the end of the 1998 AFL Grand Final:

“They've done what we thought was impossible. They've been to Perth, to Melbourne, to Sydney, to Melbourne, and they've come back... And it’s theirs!”

The fifth-seeded Sabres’ run to the 2015 Premier League Grand Final: Findon, Hillcrest, Hillcrest, Port Adelaide, Woodville, and now Findon again. Obviously the Sabres’ long journey has just been around the state, rather than the country, but the fact remains that it is a long time since they played at home. Yet they have defied all the odds, and will be playing for a Premiership. The only question now is: Will it be theirs?