Glenelg v Central Rd 6 2008 Review

[Dogwatcher]

I wouldn't say we're flag favourites.
If we're to win the flag this year, I think we are now going to do it tough.
Just judging by the injuries we currently have and some of the form issues.

[mighty_tiger_79]

I wouldn't say we're flag favourites.
If we're to win the flag this year, I think we are now going to do it tough.
Just judging by the injuries we currently have and some of the form issues.

well i believe centrals have a stronger chance of winning the flag then sturt and north, and given the result on sunday and trying not to be biased I think centrals/glenelg G/f is on the cards

[smac]

I wouldn't write off the Eagles just yet. Their form is sharpening, will be interesting to see their season from this point forward.

[Dogwatcher]

I wouldn't say we're flag favourites.
If we're to win the flag this year, I think we are now going to do it tough.
Just judging by the injuries we currently have and some of the form issues.

However, don't take anything I say as a given. I'm a born pessimist.

[CENTURION]

I still say there's nothing wrong with wanking!

[stampy]

shaddup ya bloody wanker!!!

[CENTURION]

shaddup ya bloody wanker!!!

thankyou, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!

[stampy]

I still say there's nothing wrong with wanking!

well any bloke who claims they have never done it aint human or liars

[Royal City]

I wouldn't say we're flag favourites.
If we're to win the flag this year, I think we are now going to do it tough.
Just judging by the injuries we currently have and some of the form issues.

well i believe centrals have a stronger chance of winning the flag then sturt and north, and given the result on sunday and trying not to be biased I think centrals/glenelg G/f is on the cards

Glenelg in the GF based on victory in May. My dear bays fans you remind me of centrals fans from about 15 years ago.

[Royal City]

C`mon Bulldogproud stop sucking up to the other supporters mate,they dont respect our side one little bit.

An amusing thread this one but comments like other supporters don't respect your side is just showing how arrogant SOME of you Dogs supporters are. Remember there was time not that long ago your team hardly made the finals let alone winning a minor final - back when the SANFL was alot stronger than it is now.

I have not ever read anyone posting that they don't respect Centrals and what they have achieved in the "Post Crows formation era". Please feel to correct me if I'm wrong and quote the supporting evidence. As for respecting SOME of their supporters - it's comments like yours that piss other supporters off.

still claiming " dont you guys forget before 2000". How sad the opposition fans have become.

[Big Phil]

I know it's a bit late now as it is the day of the following weeks game, but for thise who enjoy my match reviews, here is my point of view from the Doggies v Tigers battle last Sunday. I was crook earlier in the week and then had a few personal issues, hence the delay with my post...

Round 6: Glenelg @ Challenge Recruitment Oval 4/5/08

DOGGIES DISSAPOINTING DAY DOWN AT THE BAY

Both Central Districts outfits that fronted against Glenelg today unfortunately walked away with L’s in their win / loss column after going down to two very tough Bays sides down at the sponsorship named Challenge Recruitment Oval. After arriving at the ground, the day ahead looked as though it should be a beautiful one weather wise and set the scene for what should be 2 very competitive games of football. The stop start breeze, at it’s strongest was favouring the southern end with about a 3 or 4 goal advantage to the team kicking with it and you would have to think the skippers that win the toss will make the decision to do so for the start of the game. The Dogs were wearing their new “away” strip for only the second time and with both teams losing their first outing in it against Sturt back in round 2, they would be keen to get a first win in the predominantly white jumper that’s had mixed feedback from fans.

RESERVES: “ FINAL QUARTER FADE OUT COSTS DOGGIES A WIN ”

Nominated skipper Gerard McGrath, claimed the first battle of the day winning the coin toss and, of course, decided to kick to the school end, favoured by the breeze. We won the first centre clearance thanks to a huge bomb by Jon Giles that sailed deep into our attacking 50 but after a quick ball up, Glenelg took possession and ran the footy into the wind, linking up with hard running team mates. A silly 25m penalty from Dan Boyle at half forward saw the Bays taken to their attacking 50m line having the first shot on goal. Cleverly, Joffa Giles got back on the goal line as all ruckman should and with the ball struggling to clear the line, the Port Power listed ruckman was able to punch it through for a rushed behind, the first score of the game. Taking full advantage of the new kick in rule, we cleverly transferred the ball to the opposite side of the ground that Glenelg had numbers on and were able to quickly take the ball the full length of the field for our first score of the game, albeit, only a minor one, with a behind to skipper for the day, young Gerard McGrath. It was really good to see a few familiar faces back in the line up with Nathan Steinberner and Luke Barmby making comebacks from their injuries sustained in previous weeks.

The home sides next scoring opportunity came from a poorly executed handball from the hard running Dan Boyle but luckily for him, the resulting Tigers shot on goal missed for a behind only. It looked as though both teams were trying to find the pace of the game and at times were just over possessing the ball so resulting turnovers in the next 5 minutes of play were prominent. I’d say Justin Casserly (reserves runner) would have been told by coach Damien Hicks to relay a message out to the players for them to go long and direct into the forward line, taking advantage of the gusty breeze. If it was the case, it seemed to sink in for the players as the next passage of play saw Joel Baldwin drive the ball long into attack and as a result of a great contested effort by Gerard McGrath, we had our first goal on the board thanks to a very clever snap shot form Steiny that dribbled through the goals thanks to an open goal square. We had another score on the board within a minute with Sean Brading winning a lose ball on the wing and having a running shot from about 65 out, but it was only a behind. It wasn’t too long after this before the Dogs had their second major though thanks to great forward line pressure that saw Keiran McShane kick a clever check side goal.

I The next major passage in play saw another customary Daniel Boyle run, taking on about 4 opposition players and almost getting caught for holding the ball. As has been the case a bit too often, he caused another turnover and of course with his team mates pushing forward to help out, we were caught out with the Bays running the ball easily into their attack. Thankfully Glenelg turned it over themselves and this time we were able to take the full length of the field and kicked a clever goal through the consistent Brayden O’Hara. We were then able to kick back to back goals with Ryan Porter slotting through his 1st and our 4th goal of the game so far. At the 20 minute mark of the opening stanza Alex Stengle missed the mark with a kick out after a rushed behind to the home team and the Bays punished the fringe league player by kicking their first major. We won the next centre square contest where Brayden O’Hara had a chance to kick a long goal from about 55m out. The quarter time siren blew while he lined up and assisted with the breeze, the booming left footer should have easily made the distance but he shanked the kick and it didn’t even make the distance. We were just about on par with the wind advantage going into the first change with a 3 goal lead.

Glenelg got the quicker start to the second term of the two teams and were on top early in the centre square. They had the first few shots on goal but thankfully it only resulted in a couple of behinds but as has been the case throughout the year so far, our skill errors and turnovers were giving our opposition more scoring opportunities. This was proven to be the case once again and in the early stages of this quarter and The Bays were able to kick a second major to keep them in touch with the Dogs. It took a more desperate hungrier opposition for Centrals to realise they had to be a bit smarter with possession of the ball and kicking into the strong breeze, they had to go back to basics with run and carry, linking up along the way. After the home team were working back into the contest we finally got the ball into our forward 50 and after winning a strong holding the ball decision Chris Musolino had a shot on goal from about 20 metres out. It was on the wrong side for a left footer and it showed with his floating tumble punt was lucky to just scrape in for a behind. Momentum started to swing back our way after Sean Brading beautifully intercepted a pass to run and carry the ball where he spotted up youngster Jarryd Cole on a lead. Coley didn’t take the mark but did receive a free kick after being pushed in the back and his resulting shot on goal sailed through for a major.

It was once again a Dan Boyle turnover that saw the Bays answer back with their 3rd goal of the game after the Power rookie kicked across the goal face and missed the target. It was a few more Doggies errors and a couple of questionable umpiring decisions that saw the ball deep in Glenelg’s attack for the next 6 or 7 minutes but they didn’t capitalise on this only able to kick a couple of behinds. The talented Sean Brading then broke the mini goal drought with an awesome long running goal and assisted his side in holding out a late quarter fight back from the home side. It would be fair to say that an inaccurate goal kicking was Glenelg’s own worst enemy as they weren’t able to take full advantage of the strong breeze kicking 2 goals 6 to our 2 goals 1. Despite playing in patches throughout the first half the Doggies had just done enough to go into the long break with a 2 goal lead. With Glenelg not taking advantage of the breeze in the second quarter Centrals would need to capitalise on all goal scoring chances after the long break to ensure they have a handy 3 quarter time lead to avoid the home side coming home with the wind in their sails, literally.

The Dogs came out of the rooms after half time one man down with what looked like another soft tissue injury to the unlucky Nathan Steinberner. It looked as though the one time League skipper had strained a hammy once again as I noticed him sitting on the grass in front of our bench with a big ice pack strapped behind his upper leg. The game itself got off to a slightly scrappy start with the first 5 or 6 minutes of action not seeing any goals kicked. After strong work down field by wingman Louis Hadden the Doggies registered the first major of the 3rd stanza through a strong mark and goal to the impressive youngster Jarryd Cole. Within the next minute of play we had kicked another goal with another O’Hara six pointer stretching his sides lead out to a game high 24 points. Shortly after, the Dogs lead was at 30 points after a clever soccer goal dribbled through from the boot of Chris Musolino and we seemed now to be taking control of the game, or the quarter at least. We were controlling most positions on the ground with our forwards presenting well, our defender standing up once again and the likes of James Moss, Louis Hadden, Jon Giles and Lee Spurr controlling the middle. With the home side now trailing by 35, after a 3rd goal to Centrals Jarryd Cole, we looked as if we had probably done enough to hold off the wind assisted Tigers in the final term.

Every week our defenders find themselves on taller, bigger, stronger opponents and generally speaking they have been doing a pretty reasonable job through the likes of unheralded Nick White, versatile Joel Baldwin, promising Ash Duncan, and Power Rookie Dan Boyle. It was one of my favourites in Ash Duncan who set up the next attacking foray for the Dogs, along with a courageous Louis Hadden effort and a chain of handballs that saw Sean Brading kick his second goal and our 11th of the game. Another super effort from Ash saw him deep in his own attacking 50 with a running shot on goal just missing to the left for a behind. The game looked to be slipping from Glenelg’s grasp but two goals in 5 minutes to Drew Clayfield saw the deficit back to 31 points which would end up being the difference in the 2 teams at ¾ time. With the Tigers coming home with a strong breeze behind them, the game was certainly in an intriguing position that could realistic go either way. The Dogs had probably played the better footy to date but despite the goal kicking inaccuracy of their opposition, the Bays were still well and truly in the contest at lemons.

Despite us winning the first centre clearance of the last quarter, Glenelg were quickest out of the blocks kicking two quick goals to really throw the challenge out to Damien Hicks and all of his charges. The latter of the 2 Bays majors was the result of yet another poor turn over from Dan Boyle. I guess if the well built, hard running youngster wants to force his way back into the league team soon, he will have to work hard on improving his skill level under pressure and his decision making and accountability when he goes on one of those typical runs. The Bays were simply refusing to lie down and after kicking another 2 quick goals, which was their 7th unanswered major, they now only trailed by a single behind. At the 11 minute mark of the term a Glenelg behind tied the scores and coach Hicks would have been thinking his boys can’t let this one slip, not after being up by as much as 40+ points at one stage. With the fine assistance of a few dodgy umpiring calls, the Tigers had the ascendancy and managed to slot another six pointer to take their lead to 7 points in what was looking likely to turn into an upset win. Shortly after, the impressive and super quick Josh Willoughby kicked the home sides 12th goal but did have it answered back pretty quickly with a 3rd six pointer to Sean Brading. The Tigers answered straight back with a goal of their own within 30 seconds and then it was Willoughby who had the last laugh a few minutes later, snaring another goal to the Bays and they then had their 2nd in as many minutes to seal the win you would think.

But Sean Brading then decided he had something to say about this and after cleverly playing on from a rare Centrals free to advantage, he kicked his 4th major cutting the deficit back to 14 points. Unfortunately a Doggies comeback came to an abrupt halt with a Tigers goal after the final siren sealing a pretty amazing comeback and victory by 21 points. To be able to kick 10 goals whilst holding your opposition to only 2 in any quarter of football is a great effort and no doubt this 25 minute lapse in concentration and discipline certainly cost the Doggies a win they deserved after 3 quarters. But, as we all know, the game is played over 4 and the team that can put something close to a consistent 4 quarter effort, will generally go on to win the game. Especially, like mentioned above, when they pile on 10 majors in the final term. Damien Hicks would be very frustrated, naturally and would be pleading with his players to learn from this game and make sure it doesn’t happen again. It might be a lack of fitness or a lack of discipline, or maybe a bit of both and I have no doubt a bitterly disappointed coach will be making sure they work on both out on the track during next week.

RESERVES TEAM:
Hadden, Stengle, Spurr, Giles, Baldwin, Moss, Hudson, White, Woods, Musolino, Boyle, McGrath, Porter, O’Hara, Duncan, Whiley, Brading, Steinberner, Cole, McShane, Barmby

FINAL SCORES:
CDFC: 4.3 6.4 11.9 13.9 = 87
GFC: 1.4 3.10 5.14 15.18 = 108

BETTER PLAYERS:
Brading, O’Hara, Giles, Spurr, White, Woods, Moss, Stengle, Boyle

=============================================================================================

LEAGUE: “ TOUGH TIGERS TAME DESPERATE DOGGIES AT HOME ”

Centrals went into the start of the league clash with 3 changes from the team that knocked off the Roosters in the ANZAC Day rematch the week before. Co-skipper Paul Thomas had to serve his 1 game suspension for the ridiculous charge of head butting and there were 2 late withdrawals, as some had expected, with stars Ian Callinan and Chris Gowans pulling out with hamstring and knee issues respectively. Coming into the side for the 3 valuable players would be the experienced Luke McCabe as well as slightly underdone pair Elijah “Noodles” Ware and Luke “Sponge” Cowan. We got off to a good start with our solo skipper for the day, Matty Slade winning the toss and of course electing to kick with the 3 to 4 goal strong breeze blowing to the high school end. This was shown to be the scoring end in the earlier game but it was also evident of how important it is to have a handy lead at ¾ quarter time whilst playing smart enough footy against the wind to hang on for a win. Unfortunately the Bay’s reserves side kicked 10 goals to 2 in the last quarter to snatch an upset victory and prove that if you can be in striking distance at lemons, you’d be in with a real chance.

The game got underway in the middle with the crucial Shaw v Cranston battle and the Bays were the first side to win a centre clearance. Their first few attacking advances were well held by Richie Cochrane’s composure and class across half back. Young Ryan Williams and Scott Dutschke both put in their contenders for mark of the day in the first 2 minutes and this lead to the Dogs getting the first inside 50 where Luke Cowan almost took one of his huge customary pack marks which resulted in a Doggies rushed behind. The next few minutes of play saw close to half a dozen ball ups and with the umpires seemingly letting the play go a bit, both teams were just struggling a bit early to pick up the pace of the game. Glenelg then took the ball forward for their first inside 50 where a strong Roury Kourkby mark saw Mark Ruwoldt get a shot on goal, which he missed tying the game up at 1 point apiece. Then Chad O’Sullivan burst through the centre to put a ball lace out in front of a leading Heath Lawry who actually had the ball bounce off his chest after being pushed in the pack by his opponent but then not getting the free kick rewarded to him form any of the umpires. Pressure from both teams was strong and this was evident early with the scrappy style of play causing both teams to turn the footy over a few times while players adjusted to the higher tempo.

Showing a little patience with possession of the ball, Glenelg took the ball forward where ex Crow John Hinge floated across the front of a forming pack to take a strong grab. Fortunately his resulting shot on goal missed and was only a behind. The resulting kick in saw the Dogs take the ball into their forward line where we thought we had our first goal on the board but it wasn’t to be with the field umpire advising the goal umpire that a Trent Goodrem snap shot that sailed through the big white sticks, was actually touched off the boot. For a slight minute, there seemed to be a bit of confusion with some players around the actual contest not sure if the ball was actually touched of the boot at all. Cameron Faulkner was playing a defensive role across half back and was tough and aggressive over the ball but we seemed to lack a strong target across half forward after the injury prone Luke Cowan came off with the blood rule. Leigh Westhoff wasn’t get a bit of it early on his wing and he did manage to find Daniel Havelberg on a lead who in turn, chipped off to Noodles which eventuated into the first goal of the game with Elijah in his first league appearance for 2008. It was a pretty tight contest in the first quarter and a Todd Grima behind after the siren saw us with a very small lead of 3 points but we didn’t really take full advantage of the strong breeze that quarter.

We started the second quarter only 3 points in front due to only kicking 1 goal in the opening stanza despite having the 3 to 4 goal breeze behind us. Both sides got off to somewhat of an indecisive start to the 2nd term but it was the home side who started better with 2 goals in as many minutes. Matt Duldig exposed a temporary 1 on 1 with the undersized Leigh Westhoff to mark strongly and kick truly, then the dangerous Justin McConnell kicked a clever crumbing goal to give their side an 8 point lead. McConnell proved just how dangerous he can be this time getting on the end of a horrible missed kick and switch of play across the face of goals by the Doggies. The Tigers long sleeved number 33 had help lift his team mates and their pressure and intensity lifted, actually making Centrals look somewhat second rate at times. Threatening to break the open on his own, McConnell had a 3rd major at the 8 minute mark of the second term after being on the receiving end, of course, of a soft umpiring decision. The next major passage in play saw Luke McCabe, playing his first senior game in 20 months, set up our next scoring opportunity but it only resulted in a behind after Luke Cowan missed his shot on goal after taking a huge pack mark. Before you knew it, the home side had their 5th goal on the board thanks to a clever Adam Fischer snap and the Doggies where looking a tad rattled and outclassed which is something that doesn’t happen too often.

We finally got our 2nd goal of the game thanks to clever crumbing goal to Chad O’Sullivan who seems to be improving a little bit more each week that he plays. Coach Roy Laird threw a bit of a challenge to Cam Faulkner putting him on the match winning McConnell and the next few contests actually went in Cam’s favour and he seemed to be doing fairly well on him. Then a great pack mark from Noodles and a pin point pass from Sully saw Scott Dutschke having a shot on goal from about 40 out. His resulting shot missed for a behind and the Tigers were then able to take the ball the full length of the field where our potential off season recruit Todd Grima took a huge pack mark sailing his shot on goal through helicopter style for a six pointer. Sully was clearly our best player throughout this quarter and his ground work and skill level were the highlight as well as being able to find Sponge on a big lead who just calmly walked back and slotted his shoot on goal to reduce the margin to 3 goals. The next play saw a little too much indecision from State Squad member Leigh Westhoff who was pinned for holding the ball just after we broke free down the outer side by switching play. The Tigers certainly looked the better team in the second term but Centrals will come out after half time knowing they have plenty of improvement in them, still in the game, only trailing by 18 points.

No doubt, Roy Laird would have challenged his players to signal their intensions early in the second half and improve in areas lacking in the first 2 quarters. The Bays were winning more hard ball gets, their skills were the cleaner of the 2 sides and they were more effective in their goal scoring opportunities. The reason for the Tigers small lead at the start of the 3rd term was largely due to the fact that they were on top of all the areas the Doggies are renowned for and have attributed to their recent success and dominance of the past decade. Coach Laird made the move of switching big Hav into defence and throwing Daniel Schell to full forward but the move didn’t look like paying off early with Havelberg’s direct opponent, Todd Grima starting the third quarter with a strong pack mark and shot on goal from just outside 50. The brother of former premiership star Nathan Grima failed to make the distance into the breeze but clever goal sneak McConnell was waiting at ground level where he pounced on the crumbing ball to snap truly for his 4th goal of the game. The Bays number 33 was looking likely to be the match winning forward and Cameron Faulkner would certainly have to lift his work rate to quell any further influence on the outcome by his dominant opponent. Roy Laird showed faith in Cam as he had shown some good signs at stages, playing the negating defensive role.

The former Western Bulldog who returned home this year managed to win the next 1 on 1 contest against Justin McConnell. It then set up a passage in play with Switty, Noodles and Schelly all playing a part in a goal to Scott Dutschke, the perfect quick response for the Dogs. Noodles was finding plenty of it in his first league game for 08 and played a part in the next couple of scoring opportunities for his side, including a shot on goal himself that just missed, reducing the Tigers lead back to the half time deficit of 18 points. Another player playing his first league game in a while, in fact 20 months, was Luke McCabe and the former Hawthorn veteran was slotting back into the midfield perfectly, winning his fair share of possession but importantly using the footy to set up his team mates up with more scoring opportunities. Chad O’Sullivan had one of these opportunities but he could only manage a behind, however signs were looking good from the Doggies and it seemed they were working their way back into the contest. Unfortunately an error from Haysey trying to kick across the face of goal, missing his target, saw Brett Backwell run into an open goal to square kicking the home side’s 8th major and extending their lead out to 22 points.

The improving Ryan Williams was impressive on the ball and was able to win possession to find Schelly with a bit of space inside 50. The 2 time Ken Farmer medallist calmly slotted his first six pointer to cut the deficit back down to 16 points. In the blink of an eye, Glenelg’s lead was back to 10 points after Justin McConnell temporarily went from hero to villain, dropping a simple chest mark in his defensive goal square gifting Schell his 2nd goal in as many minutes. The Bays then settled after Tom Holmes was unintentionally taken high in a tackle by Richie Cochrane and went on to kick a goal from the resulting free kick. In true sea saw fashion, the Dogs answered straight back with a first goal to heath Lawry after his clever snap shot sailed through for six points bringing the Tigers lead back to 10 points once again. Then at the 19 minute mark, it was man of the moment, or at least the 3rd term, Daniel Schell who took one of his customary big pack marks and kicked truly to bring the Dogs to within 1 goal, now only trailing by 4 points. To move Schelly into attack from defence was a great decision by Lairdy and looked as though it could end up being a match winning choice from the legendary coach after the number 27 had a 4th goal for the quarter shortly after his third one.

The Doggies now had the lead, albeit a slender one of 3 points but it was a 15 minute period of play throughout this term that had a lot of Doggies fans smiling as it was no doubt one of the best quarters of footy we have played all year. It was the kind of football that we all knew the team are capable of but for varying reasons, had struggled throughout the year so far to really put this kind of onslaught on display. More importantly though, it had us right back in the contest and although there was still a few minutes of play left in the 3rd term, the game was now set up for an intriguing Dog fight in the last. In the last few minutes we extended our lead by a further goal to 9 points after a classic front and square crumbing goal to James Gowans who was his at his usual best despite not having brother Chris out there, a late withdrawal with knee ligament damage. Against the flow of play and just before the ¾ time siren, Todd Grima took a 1 handed speccie and kicked truly for the last score of the quarter, bringing the Dogs lead back to the 3 points again. Clearly, the game was set up for a thrilling finish and although the home side would be finishing with the breeze, it had died off a fair bit and was probably now only a 1, maybe 2 goal advantage for the home side. The team that shows more desperation and has a superior fitness level will probably win the game.

At the ¾ time break, the Bays supporters were quite vocal getting behind their team who had all huddled in tight, pleading for their players not to drop this crucial home clash. The Dogs fans of course were behind their team as well and it seemed to work better than the Tiger’s fans as Centrals were the quicker team out the blocks once play got underway. Impressive and improving Ryan Williams got us off to the perfect start by winning the centre clearance and getting the ball long into our attack. His fine effort didn’t stop there as he followed the ball into our 50 where he became an option for Heath Lawry who took possession, squaring up with a pass to Willow who kicked the goal from just on 50. The visitors lead was now 9 points and it looked like the great performance by the Doggies in the previous quarter was going to carry over into the last term. Unfortunately, shortly after, Leigh Westhoff missed his target by foot and the resulting turnover saw the Bays take the ball forward where a high, long kick was judged better by Todd Grima, than his opponent Haysey, with the former Geelong VFL star marking well and kicking his 3rd goal for the day, again bringing the difference back to 3 points in favour of Centrals. In the blink of an eye, the Bays had a 3 point lead themselves after yet another slight misjudgement by State Squad member Andrew Hayes, where Justin McConnell was awarded a dubious mark going back to slot his 5th for the game. All the loyal Tiger’s fans could sense a win for the home side and were getting behind their side vocally.

Unfortunately for Dogs fans, and for Charles Slattery of course, there was a 5 minute stop in play as the former West Adelaide defender was stretchered off with what looked like either a serious knee injury or perhaps a reoccurrence of his bad ankle injury from last year. The stop in play kind of halted the game momentum and the next few minutes were pretty scrappy from both sides. This was probably attributed by the high pressure and intensity of the game so far as well and it was the Bays who got the next score after the short halt in play. The impressive Todd Grima showed why the Dogs were keen for his signature pre season as well after taking another strong over head mark and kicked his 4th goal of the game, now taking his sides lead out to 10 points at the 15 minute mark of the last term. With a bit of momentum now in their favour, the Tigers took control of the next 3 or 4 minutes in play but only managed a couple of behinds to now make their lead 2 straight kicks at 12 points. However the Dogs weren’t going to lie down and play dead, of course, and a great contested effort from Leigh Westhoff saw an open Adam Switala who found Noodles on the lead who took an impressive leap and mark. A former AFL listed player, the number 50 certainly has a great leap for a small bloke, as most Indigenous players do, but unfortunately his resulting shot on goal faded late for a behind that may prove to be handy with the scores being so tight.

But the bays got the next two scores in the form of behinds which now meant the Dogs would have to kick 3 majors to take the lead back from the home side. At the 20 minute mark of the last term, this was looking as though it might be a pretty tough ask for the reigning premiers but, of course the Dogs were not done yet. Running into an open goal, Noodles missed a shot on goal from about 30 out on his left foot and the Bays were able to take possession from the resulting kick out. They had the perfect opportunity to seal the victory but both Byron Murphy and ex Crow John Hinge squandered opportunities in front of goal to keep the visitors slim hopes of snatching an unlikely win, alive. It was the returning veteran Luke McCabe who was able to show his class and experience crumbing a pack well to kick his sides 12th goal but was it going to be a case of too little too late ? You would have thought so after probably the defining moment of the game came when another ex Crow, Matty Bode ran down Elijah Ware who was streaming towards our goals. This would prove to be the match winning tackle with the Bays now holding a 9 point lead with surely no more than a minute, or 2 left in the game. Centrals had one more dig at snatching the win after man of the moment, Luke McCabe took an impressive 1 handed mark from a 1 on 1 contest.

Realising there was not much time left, he hurried back off his mark and went on to kick the goal but as the ball sailed through the big sticks, the final siren blew. This handed the Bays a nail biting 3 point win and their fans were elated as their club song played out across the PA system. The Doggies were somewhat gallant in defeat but simply did not play 4 consistent quarters of footy to justify taking the points. There were no doubt some pleasing aspects that Roy Laird would take form the game, including that awesome 15 minute period in the 3rd term where Schelly kicked all 4 of his goals. With a few key personnel still sitting on the side lines and plenty of areas requiring improvement, Centrals fans can take heart that their team are still playing well enough in patched to stay in the contest. As disappointing as the loss is, we just have to learn from it, as with did with the Sturt loss in round 2, and make sure we come out next week against the Eagles with an attitude of playing 4 good quarters of football. Of course, another sour note to come out of this game was the serious injury to Slatts who had to be stretchered off the ground in that enthralling last term. Fingers crossed it is not a bad knee injury and hopefully he will be back in action sooner rather than later.

LEAGUE TEAM:
J.Gowans, Havelberg, Cowan, Goodrem, Lawry, Ware, L.Westhoff, O’Sullivan, Faulkner, Williams, Schell, Switala, Cochrane, Sibenaler, Hayes, Shaw, Slattery, Slade, Mackenzie, McCabe, Dutschke

FINAL SCORES:
CDFC: 1.2 3.6 10.10 13.12 = 90
GFC: 0.5 6.6 10.7 13.15 = 93

BETTER PLAYERS:
McCabe, Dutschke, Schell, Williams, Ware, O’Sullivan, L.Westhoff, Cochrane, Faulkner

Sorry for the delay footy fans, it was basically caused by me having one of the worst weeks of my life. It interesting how sometimes you think you have got it bad and then you hear a couple of tragic stories like the Sam Davis and Lee Blake ones and it certainly puts things back into perspective. My problems (apart from being really crook, whcih happens) aren't that bad now in comparison.

Anywya, enjoy my reviews, allbeit very late ones. I'll be heading down to Woodville this morning to do my review of the ressies before heading out to hamra to watch the Barossa curtain raiser to the big Doggies v Eagles blockbuster. Can't wait, hopefully we get a win tonight...

GO U DOGGIES...

Big Phil..

[Aerie]

I thought the delay might've been just because it took that long to write the whole thing.

Keep up the good work BigPhil!

[Wedgie]

That is ridiculously comprehensive BP. Nice work.

[Big Phil]

Thanks Wedgie and Aerie,

Appreciate the positive feedback...

For those that don't read my match reviews on the Centrals web site that I copy over to here, I explained on there that the reason for my late posting was the fact that I probably had one of the worst weeks of my life personally last week. I was crook as a Dog early in the week, had a job interview go pear shape after being offered $10K less than what I'm on now and then the icing on the cake was me and the fiance at each others throats all week for various reasons.

Like I mentioned on the post about the tragic loss on both Lee Blake and Sam Davis, sometimes people think that theit life is hard and they've got it tough but thinking of the families and friends of the 2 young boys gives me a realistic perspective on life that it is not as bad as it could be.

Hopefully it wont take me as long to get my Central v Eagles match reviews up this week, certainly hope not...

GO U DOGGIES..

Big Phil...

[Wedgie]

Thanks Wedgie and Aerie,

Appreciate the positive feedback...

For those that don't read my match reviews on the Centrals web site that I copy over to here, I explained on there that the reason for my late posting was the fact that I probably had one of the worst weeks of my life personally last week. I was crook as a Dog early in the week, had a job interview go pear shape after being offered $10K less than what I'm on now and then the icing on the cake was me and the fiance at each others throats all week for various reasons.

Like I mentioned on the post about the tragic loss on both Lee Blake and Sam Davis, sometimes people think that theit life is hard and they've got it tough but thinking of the families and friends of the 2 young boys gives me a realistic perspective on life that it is not as bad as it could be.

Hopefully it wont take me as long to get my Central v Eagles match reviews up this week, certainly hope not...

GO U DOGGIES..

Big Phil...

Mate, all other clubs would kill to be as crook as Dogs in the last 8 years!

Seriously mate, it sounds like you had a shit of a week, hope everything improves for you this week.

[Dogwatcher]

Yep - keep punching Big Phil!

[Big Phil]

Thanks Guys...

All sweet on the health and home front now...

Will just have to be patient with the work situation though...

Cheers,

Big Phil...