RD15 West def. Centrals Match Review

[lesthemechanic]

I would hate to see all the years of accolades James Gowans has being undone in the twilight of his career then he gets remembered for the wrong reasons, not for the fact that he was a major part in a decade of Centrals dominance. Hopefully it is a one of & Roy deals with it in whatever way he sees fit.
Many players get abused every week ( Chambers gets it all the time ) and although it probably isn't right, it comes with the territory and it has to roll of their backs.

[CUTTERMAN]

what exactly did the supporter do

[Thiele]

Didnt see the gowans inncedent. Was to busy Yelling with the WOLF PACK

GO YOU BLOODS

[Rik E Boy]

Yes, Wedgie, one of the biggest dummy spits I've ever seen at the footy. With a few minutes to go, with West 7 points up, there was a hard pack contest right in front of the grandstand. James Gowans at the bottom of the pack got collected, presumably by friendly fire and the umpire rightly called for a bounce.

Gowans took a little time to get up, naturally, but then stunned everyone.

He got up with the ball, but instead of giving it to the umpire, threw it forcefully at a teammate. Free kick to West at a vital time. He then took himself off (although it would have been a blood rule anyway) and went down the race. A West supporter gave him a spray and Gowans allegedly punched the wire mesh forcefully. He then started back down the race towards the supporter and had to be restrained by a Centrals official. He then proceeded to allegedly smash his fist several times into the race perspex with enough force that the whole crowd could hear it.

Not a good look.

WHAT A WANKER


Go the Bloods. Well done.

regards,

REB

[Dutchy]

Centrals dissapointing not to have a bigger lead at the first break and in that third term when held goal-less kicking with the breeze...

Great win for the Westies side and their faithful supporters who certainly were excited cheering their boys off yesterday, well done Bloods...

Is that the match report?

[CUTTERMAN]

the extended version

[redandblack]

Match report from a West fans point of view:

I remember 2003. We made the Grand Final, lost to Centrals, but beat Centrals during the year. It was only when looking at the CDFC Info site last night that I realised that win was only due to a dodgy free kick we got, so I was glad they hadn't reversed the result in the meantime, otherwise it would have been more than 16 straight losses.

I'd been away and had missed our win against Norwood, but fortunately also our debacle at Waikerie. After that, there wasn't as much optimism amongst Blood's fans about the Centrals game, with good reason. Pettigrew was in the Power side, Matthew Westhoff wasn't. None of our numerous SA based AFL players were in our team again and it didn't look promising, even more so when our Reserves were absent without leave in the early game. On the other hand, the wetter conditions might help us and Centrals might not be 'up'.

Wishful thinking.

Centrals, kicking with a strong wind, dominated the first quarter, kicking more points than goals, although Hadden had 2 goals. Surprise inclusion from the previous week, Ryan Bennett, kicked an important goal for West, but Centrals were dominant, despite their tall forwards not touching the footy much. Perhaps Westies could bridge the gap with the wind in the second quarter.

Wishful thinking.

Same old, same old, as Centrals outscored us by 2 points, with Matthew Westhoff breaking clear to kick 2 goals and threatening to blow us away. Young Spurr was pretty impressive for the Dogs, as was Dutschke. Thomas was dangerous with his usual terrific work-rate and Centrals were dominating the centre clearances, despite Lobbe being competitive in ruck. O'Sullivan was being well held by Steven Morris and the damage was being limited by the likes of Bricknell and Munn in defence. At half-time, it seemed like a regulation Dogs win at Richmond and I wondered if we could avoid another heavy defeat. I also wondered what the score would have been if Schell had touched the footy. He usually kills us, but didn't have a hope against the League's best defender, as Ferguson thrashed him and marked to repel several attacks. Schell was shifted off him.

The third quarter was a pretty dour affair, with Centrals looking as if they had the game wrapped up. To their credit, the Blood's attacked and showed plenty of spirit, to hold Central to 2 points with the breeze, while kicking 2.3 against it. I think it wasn't until very late in the third quarter that silly notions of possibly winning the game started to enter our calculations.

Nah, Centrals always lift when they have to, so it's been a good effort so far, but we all know what's going to happen.

Well, Andy Collins and the Blood's players didn't and West kicked the first goal of the last quarter to draw level. Centrals replied with 2 goals in 2 minutes. Yes, normality re-established.

The Blood's players didn't think so and gradually battled back, eventually drawing level, then ahead to a mighty roar. The next score, a behind, led to that wonderful football cliche, as hundreds of West fans simultaneously uttered the famous words "that's a handy point'.

The minutes were counting down and Centrals didn't look like scoring.

Then the game was over. No, there were still a few minutes left, but James Gowans might as well have blown the siren himself, with a brain explosion that was dumb at best, but more truthfully, petulant, disrespectful of his team-mates and disgraceful.

Clearly, for West fans, a moment to treasure after the agony of 16 straight defeats.

Another point. (Even handier).

Siren and high fives all round. The winning song was what everyone had expected, except that it was the original West Adelaide one.

Best players. Well, for Centrals, I thought Thomas, a wonderful player, Spurr, Dutschke and I thought Slade won the hard ball to be in front of the likes of Sansbury, who played well and O'Hara (later) and Jenner (consistent).

For the Bloods, James Ezard was wonderful, again. He takes the game on, wins the hard ball and runs all day. Ferguson literally didn't allow Schell a touch in the first half and saved us from going in 6 goals down at half-time. It's not just me who rates him, his performances underline his quality. David Piasente had his best game for years, with a tough, strong game. The game also saw a couple of performances that announced the arrival of Scott Bricknell and Jonno Beech as players with a big future. Shane Birss showed his quality, Daniel Caire was great and Ben Fisher continued his consistent good form. Bronik Davies last quarter run was instrumental in the win. Doubts about the wisdom of playing Renmark's Ryan Bennett weren't evident this week, as his 3 goals and strong body added another option to the forward structure.

I stayed for presentations and enjoyed it. I stayed for dinner and enjoyed it. I came home and logged on to SAFooty and enjoyed it.

I'm still enjoying it

[Thiele]

Fantastic wrap up R&B

[CUTTERMAN]

I still want to know what the Westies supporter did or said to cause Saint James such irritation.

[bayman]

Cant believe Bayman reckons the Bays are third favourite for the flag yet are a couple of games clear ON TOP of the ladder.

harley can you please show me where i said that ?

for the record i'd have central & glenelg equal favourites @ 7/4 with sturt next best @ 11/4


(i'm happy to be on glenelg @ $8.00 )

[Adelaide Hawk]

Centrals dissapointing not to have a bigger lead at the first break and in that third term when held goal-less kicking with the breeze...

Great win for the Westies side and their faithful supporters who certainly were excited cheering their boys off yesterday, well done Bloods...

Is that the match report?

Haha!!!

[bayman]

I still want to know what the Westies supporter did or said to cause Saint James such irritation.

told him what we all think of him (as an opposition player)

[smac]

I still want to know what the Westies supporter did or said to cause Saint James such irritation.

And I would like to know who called him a Saint, other than you? Pretty certain no one has ever done that.

[CUTTERMAN]

Only me as far as I can see Smac, maybe you're reading too much into it, maybe you're a bit touchy today.

[bayman]

westies were woeful & central wasteful in the first term & as central got to a 5 goal lead i think everyone at the ground including me thought that they'd run away with it, however west being one of the most tenacious teams in the competition refused to be pushed aside & clawed their way back then central seemed to steady with 2 westhoff goals to get a 2 goal lead but from that point west were the only team that looked like scoring & got there with 2 reasonably late goals, as for the j.gowans 'blow up' it was stupid & i'd presume he regrets it, but what it told me that even though the scores were still close he had given up on victory....without taking anything from westies i wonder whether central were completely switched on because i'd never heard an injured player (wingnut) talking about the punters club & a $50.00 bet with the head coach just after his team had run out

[bayman]

I still want to know what the Westies supporter did or said to cause Saint James such irritation.

And I would like to know who called him a Saint, other than you? Pretty certain no one has ever done that.

c'mon smac his mother has

[Adelaide Hawk]

Phil, with respect, Gowans had already made a fool of himself well before he went up the race. To compound it by trying to attack a silly spectator just made it worse. We all have feral supporters, they just have to be ignored.

On the other hand, if Gowans showed such a lack of discipline at such a vital time in the game, perhaps some could find sympathy with the supporter having watched us get smashed by Centrals 16 times in a row over 6 years enjoying the moment

Gowans needs to talk with all the opposition players who have been abused by arrogant Central fans over the years as they tried to leave the ground. Maybe they can suggest ways how to handle it. Let's face it, James Gowans is a drop kick.

[smac]

Only me as far as I can see Smac, maybe you're reading too much into it, maybe you're a bit touchy today.

Not at all. I stopped worrying about the results of games in July about 5 years ago and started watching how we were playing and training. No concerns in 2009 for me at this stage.

[nickname]

Not at all. I stopped worrying about the results of games in July about 5 years ago and started watching how we were playing and training.

It's been the same for Westies supporters.

[udogs01]

This site is a joke...reckon it should be renamed Bitchfest.com....not much footy talk on here !!!