Qualifying Final Centrals V Sturt @ Football Park 13/9

[dsriggs]

Centrals to win by 4 goals. The main reason is that its finals time and they certaintly lift that extra 3 or 4 cogs.

Got any evidence to back that statement up ?

I'd assume that "Central Districts: Premiers 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 & 2008" would be evidence enough...

[doggies4eva]

Centrals to win by 4 goals. The main reason is that its finals time and they certaintly lift that extra 3 or 4 cogs.

Got any evidence to back that statement up ?

I'd assume that "Central Districts: Premiers 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 & 2008" would be evidence enough...

Exactly - and JAS a bit overzealous I think. How could Glenelg be disadvantaged by a thread about Sturt V Dogs when they will have the bye next week and West will finish? Please explain.

[Barto]

Centrals to win by 4 goals. The main reason is that its finals time and they certaintly lift that extra 3 or 4 cogs.

Got any evidence to back that statement up ?

No not really. Thought Id just make it up.

Ah well if we're just making things up. Sturt by 80 points then!

[Pseudo]

Centrals to win by 4 goals. The main reason is that its finals time and they certaintly lift that extra 3 or 4 cogs.

Got any evidence to back that statement up ?

The trophy cabinet in Grand Central perhaps?

[doggies4eva]

Centrals to win by 4 goals. The main reason is that its finals time and they certaintly lift that extra 3 or 4 cogs.

Got any evidence to back that statement up ?

The trophy cabinet in Grand Central perhaps?

The last 9 GFs maybe?

[dedja]

I think some people's piss-o-meter is a tad broken.

[doggies4eva]

I think some people's piss-o-meter is a tad broken.

I just like saying 9 GFs in a row. Of course 10 in a row sounds even better

[whufc]

Here we go again. Let the mudslinging start. Having to put up with Doggies fans 2 weekends out of the last 3. What have we done to deserve that
Might fire off an SOS flare
Seriously though, hopefully a big crowd can get out to AAMI as that place can be very lacking in atmosphere if there's not many there.

The place never lacks atmopsphere when the Ceeeeentrals chant gets into full swing.

[whufc]

Maybe we should actually talk about the game?

So what have we got awaiting us next Sunday afternoon? Well I think its fair to say you have a team in Sturt, who without doubt are the most lethal team in the league when it comes to punishing sides that don't apply themselves on the day, but who at the same time, seem to be coming up short against the two heavyweights of the league at the business end of the season. In the other corner you have the seasoned campaigner in Central, who finished in the top three without much fanfare and when on song, are very difficult to beat, they can't be physically put off their game, but they can be matched and they can sometimes not apply themselves.

For me this is truly a 50-50 game... at most I'd give the Doggies a very slight edge. The real question here is will Central come to play properly and will Sturt put in 4 quarters against quality opposition?

Last season we saw what both sides are capable of in a Qualifying Final. I thought Sturt were brilliant for three quarters as they soaked up Centrals hard-at-it game style, gave it back with interest and kicked away to a commendable lead. Unfortunately for me, the game goes another quarter and unlike most sides, Centrals had it in them to throw down the gauntlet just one more time in the hope that they'd panic Sturt out of its game style, which they did and history shows a comeback win for the Dogs. I think we'll see something similar on Sunday, one of these teams will get the upper hand and keep it.

Either Centrals will be on top early and roll on to a comfortable 4-5 goal win...

OR

Sturt will get the upper hand and unlike last year, play out four quarters and comfortably knock the Dogs over by 5-6 goals...

The key for Sturt is to keep Buckets MacKenzie under control, he can out tap us, we can rove off him, but we can't let him control the game around the ground. He might eat a lot of pies, but the man has courage by the truck load and stamina that defies the build of the man, Angus Kurtze needs to show him respect, but not give him an inch. That is a key match up. Central can stop Chambers, but they need to stop the midfield feed to the forward line. Sturt just need to stay focused and above all, reduce the number of unforced errors that Centrals will pounce on and capitalise on.

My tip for this blockbuster...

Sturt 21-30

There's some heart in that, but just have a feeling the tide needs to turn against the SANFL powerhouse sometime...

First and last time i think will ever say this, i totally agree and thats a great preview off this weekends game, although i hope your prediction is wrong, yet something tells me Sturt may just roll us over here, not to say our season will be over though.

[LBT]

Centrals will win this in a similar manner to last years corresponding final. Anyone who thinks Centrals wont cruise straight through to the Grand Final is kidding themselves.

[wycbloods]

Sturt by 6 goals for me.

[whufc]

IMHO central will not win by anymore than 3 goals, Sturt could win by as many as 10 goals.

[whufc]

Interestingly Sunday's long range weather forecast according to Foxs News and Weather is................................................

29 and possible showers.

Don't know if this suits any team in particular.

[dedja]

A couple of weeks ago I would have had no hessitation in picking Central for this clash ... now I'm not so sure.

We keep hearing about how the Doggies ramp up for the finals and how good their finals record has been in the last 9 years, which is undoubtably true.

Just for something to do I collated some stats on this which are final position, finals won, and win/loss ratio for the last 8 games of the minor round for Central.

2008 - 1st
Won QF 2SF GF, won last 6/8 minor round games

2007 - 1st
Won 2SF GF, won last 7/8

2006 - 2nd
Won QF 2SF, lost GF , won last 4/8

2005 - 1st
Won 2SF, GF, won last 8/8

2004 - 1st
Won 2SF, GF, won last 7/8

2003 - 1st
Won Q 2SF GF, won last 7/8

2002 - 2nd
Won 2SF, lost GF, won last 7/8

2001 - 1st
Won 2SF GF, won last 8/8

2000 - 1st
Won Q, 2SF, GF, won last 6/8

Now what do these stats tell us?

Firstly, what a f***ing phenominal result this club has achieved in the last 9 years!

2002 is interesting. As no doubt the Blues supporters will attest to, the Doggies were favourites and their stats up until the GF indicated another Dog's premiership, but Sturt played brilliantly in the GF to take the title.

Now look at 2006. You can see that the Dog's form coming into the finals was ordinary, winning only 4 out of their last 8 minor round games, but they won the Qualifying and 2nd-semi before being blasted by the Eagles in the GF.

Now finally look at this year.

The Dogs have won 5 1/2 out of their last 8 games, and for the first time, dropped the R23 game (in 2006, dropped R22). There has been no noticeable ramping up for the finals and their form has been very patchy. On top of that they've copped some injuries to important players.

Now I'm in no way writing off Central, but this year it seems that it is their worst (or at best, equal worst) preparation for a final series in the last 10 years.

Yes, they did beat Sturt 2 weeks ago, but Sturt have played some very good football until their hiccups against the Bays and the Dogs in R21 & R22.

I cannot see Sturt dropping out of the finals in straight sets this year ... if they lose to Central in this week's Qualifying Final, I would expect them to clean up either North or the Eagles (expect the Eagles) and advance to the Preliminary Final.

Perversely, if the Dogs drop this week's game, I can see them dropping out in straight sets, even more so if they have to face the Eagles in the 1st-semi.

For Sturt to win this week they have to overcome the two vulnerable areas of their game IMO. The first is countering the shutdown of their running game by an in-close, hard, tough attack on the ball. Both the Bays and the Dogs play this style of game. The second is having a Plan B if Chambers is shut out of the game.

No doubt Sturt are capable of winning this week, even more so if they get that free running game going. For mine, the Dogs can certainly win, by relying on their finals experience and getting inside the heads of the Blues, but something is telling me that that insatiable belief isn't quite as strong this year.

So for mine, I'm going out on a limb and tipping the Blues this week.

[doggies4eva]

Interestingly Sunday's long range weather forecast according to Foxs News and Weather is................................................

29 and possible showers.

Don't know if this suits any team in particular.

I think the dogs play better in the wet.

[sjt]

A couple of weeks ago I would have had no hessitation in picking Central for this clash ... now I'm not so sure.

We keep hearing about how the Doggies ramp up for the finals and how good their finals record has been in the last 9 years, which is undoubtably true.

Just for something to do I collated some stats on this which are final position, finals won, and win/loss ratio for the last 8 games of the minor round for Central.

2008 - 1st
Won QF 2SF GF, won last 6/8 minor round games

2007 - 1st
Won 2SF GF, won last 7/8

2006 - 2nd
Won QF 2SF, lost GF , won last 4/8

2005 - 1st
Won 2SF, GF, won last 8/8

2004 - 1st
Won 2SF, GF, won last 7/8

2003 - 1st
Won Q 2SF GF, won last 7/8

2002 - 2nd
Won 2SF, lost GF, won last 7/8

2001 - 1st
Won 2SF GF, won last 8/8

2000 - 1st
Won Q, 2SF, GF, won last 6/8

Now what do these stats tell us?

Firstly, what a f***ing phenominal result this club has achieved in the last 9 years!

2002 is interesting. As no doubt the Blues supporters will attest to, the Doggies were favourites and their stats up until the GF indicated another Dog's premiership, but Sturt played brilliantly in the GF to take the title.

Now look at 2006. You can see that the Dog's form coming into the finals was ordinary, winning only 4 out of their last 8 minor round games, but they won the Qualifying and 2nd-semi before being blasted by the Eagles in the GF.

Now finally look at this year.

The Dogs have won 5 1/2 out of their last 8 games, and for the first time, dropped the R23 game (in 2006, dropped R22). There has been no noticeable ramping up for the finals and their form has been very patchy. On top of that they've copped some injuries to important players.

Now I'm in no way writing off Central, but this year it seems that it is their worst (or at best, equal worst) preparation for a final series in the last 10 years.

Yes, they did beat Sturt 2 weeks ago, but Sturt have played some very good football until their hiccups against the Bays and the Dogs in R21 & R22.

I cannot see Sturt dropping out of the finals in straight sets this year ... if they lose to Central in this week's Qualifying Final, I would expect them to clean up either North or the Eagles (expect the Eagles) and advance to the Preliminary Final.

Perversely, if the Dogs drop this week's game, I can see them dropping out in straight sets, even more so if they have to face the Eagles in the 1st-semi.

For Sturt to win this week they have to overcome the two vulnerable areas of their game IMO. The first is countering the shutdown of their running game by an in-close, hard, tough attack on the ball. Both the Bays and the Dogs play this style of game. The second is having a Plan B if Chambers is shut out of the game.

No doubt Sturt are capable of winning this week, even more so if they get that free running game going. For mine, the Dogs can certainly win, by relying on their finals experience and getting inside the heads of the Blues, but something is telling me that that insatiable belief isn't quite as strong this year.

So for mine, I'm going out on a limb and tipping the Blues this week.

Interesting.
I do think in 2002 we under achieved and in 2006 we over achieved. Before the start of the season in 2006 I didn't think we'd finish top 3. This year we've got a good side, equal at least to Glenelg and Sturt. I'd rate Glenelg as favourites with the weeks rest and two games to win the GF. Central and Sturt to close to call 50/50.

[LBT]

Sounds like Warren Partland is using several aliases to log onto this site .

[doggies4eva]

I agree with sjt. The only finals game that I am disappointed with in the last 10 years was the 02 GF. We let Sturt get the jump on us and never recovered.

I am proud of our acheivement in 06 - I think that the Eagles were clearly the best team that year and I would have rated us at about 4th or 5th but we made the GF which was a truimph for the coach and players.

Right now we need that 06 spirit because I think we are a little unsettled. We don't have a CHF (unless Havelberg can come up to speed) and we have question marks over some of our midfielders which have been our strength. This all makes for an exciting finals series. I can't wait for Sunday.

[drebin]

Centrals to win by 4 goals. The main reason is that its finals time and they certaintly lift that extra 3 or 4 cogs.

Got any evidence to back that statement up ?

I'd assume that "Central Districts: Premiers 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 & 2008" would be evidence enough...

Sleeping giants comment was either one of the following:

(a) A big "bait" to get a bite?
(b) True to his name he has been sleeping for the past 10 years?
(c) Simply one of the dumbest post of all time?

My money is on (c)!

[dedja]

Centrals to win by 4 goals. The main reason is that its finals time and they certaintly lift that extra 3 or 4 cogs.

Got any evidence to back that statement up ?

I'd assume that "Central Districts: Premiers 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 & 2008" would be evidence enough...

Sleeping giants comment was either one of the following:

(a) A big "bait" to get a bite?
(b) True to his name he has been sleeping for the past 10 years?
(c) Simply one of the dumbest post of all time?

My money is on (c)!

(d) being sarcastic maybe?