- May 8, 2001
- 5,667
- 818
- AFL Club
- Adelaide
- Other Teams
- CDFC (SANFL), Port Melb (VFL)
Hi Footy fans...
This past weekend, the race for the premiership began in fine fashion with the Elimination and Qualifying finals kicking off the start of the 2008 SANFL Finals Series. Almost 16,000 SA footy-heads rushed through the Adelaide Oval turnstiles, the best turnout to a first week finals double header in a decade and was up by 40% on the same fixture last year. Unfortunately with a finals campaign comes some crushing exits...
... so with that in mind, lets see what happened in the Week One edition of the SANFL Finals Wrap-Up.
The turnstiles saw long lines turn up just before midday for the first league final for 2008 and the continuation of South Australia's original league football rivalry that has stood the test of time. First up in this week's wrap-up, the Elimination Final encounter between Port Adelaide and Norwood. The Magpies, notably absent from the 2007 finals after finishing sixth and an elimination final knockout in 2006 have not sat well with the Alberton faithful, who have not tasted premiership glory since 1999 when they defeated their arch-enemy in the Redlegs. The Redlegs have had an on and off season just like the Magpies, their last finals appearance was in 2002 but history will show that they are no strangers to Elimination Finals, where they hold a league record 12 victories which include their famous 1984 season and eventual premiership triumph against their black and white enemies. Last week, the 'Pies pushed aside the Eagles to enter the finals equation, but the Redlegs were coming off a loss to Glenelg.
The Magpies were expected to respond big time after Friday's passing of club legend Bob Quinn, but it was the Redlegs who responded best in the first quarter after they kicked 4.2 to Port's 3.3 to take a five point lead at quarter-time. The Redlegs were able to stretch that out in the second quarter, kicking an additional 5.2 to the Magpies' 4.2 to lead by 11 points at the long break. Norwood looked to be up against it before the second half began, with the loss of two players to injury they were down to 19 fit men for the next hour. But that didn't stop the Redlegs, in fact it had the opposite effect. After the Magpies stole the lead midway through the third term through Tim Looby, the Redlegs hit back hard and fast. James Gallagher led by example and Taylor Walker had a big hand on the scoring front, at the end of the third term the 'Legs were in front by 25 points after kicking 6.4 to 4.2. The Magpies seemed set to steal the lead again when they fired through three unanswered goals. The Magpies kicked 4.1 for the final term, but after the Redlegs composed themselves and added 3.3 to their score they could plan for next week. Norwood taking out a 21 point win and eliminating Port from finals football. Walker bagged seven goals, but Gallagher's leadership earned him best on ground votes for Norwood, while the Magpies named Jeremy Clayton as their best afield.
Most of the crowd stayed behind for the second match of the league finals double header and this week would mark the second time in so many weeks that these two teams have played each other. The Qualifying Final would see Sturt take on Central District. There's not much history in finals between these two sides, but the one that would count the most in the minds of both teams would be the 2002 decider where Sturt captured their first title for 26 years. It didn't take long for the Dogs to bounce back following that debacle, winning four of the next five flags. Sturt however, didn't have too much time to celebrate their premiership victory of that year after disaster struck the club's post-season festivities in Bali. The following year saw the club eliminated in the first week of finals and aside from a horrible eighth-placed 2006, successive finals appearances didn't see the team at AAMI Stadium on that first Sunday in October. As mentioned above, this would be the second week on the trot these sides would lock horns, with the Bulldogs winning the Round 23 game at Elizabeth by 16 points.
The Bulldogs had a lousy start to the day, managing just 1.1 but the Double Blues kicked an inaccurate 3.5 to lead by just 16 points at quarter-time. Brant Chambers finally bagged his 100th goal in the second quarter, which saw a good portion of the crowd invade the pitch to congratulate the 2008 Ken Farmer Medallist. But instead of that feat rallying the Blues into full-on action, that was one of just two goals Sturt scored for the quarter while the reigning premiers, albeit very inaccurately, got to within a kick of the lead at half-time with the Blues still in front by three points. The Double Blues seemingly regained control of the match in the third quarter after they kicked 4.3 to the Bulldogs' paltry 1.1 to take a 23 point lead going into the final change. The Blues fans would be forgiven for thinking that this one was in the bag, but history shows that when you write off the Bulldogs, they usually bite you in the backside. The Doggies rammed home four unanswered goals, with the clincher coming from Elijah Ware with minutes still left. Sturt's final roll of the dice came in the dying seconds, but Luke Crane's shot strayed for a minor score, one of two behinds for the final quarter. The Dogs won by three points, booking an encounter with Glenelg this coming Sunday. In a repeat of the Round 23 best on ground nominations, Captain Paul Thomas was named best afield for Central while Daniel Wicks was voted Sturt's best.
FINAL SCORES IN WEEK ONE OF THE SANFL FINALS
Sunday September 14
ELIMINATION FINAL
Norwood 18.11 (119)
Port Adelaide 15.8 (98)
QUALIFYING FINAL
Central District 9.13 (67)
Sturt 9.10 (64)
15,825 @ Adelaide Oval
INJURIES
Sturt -- Coad (hamstring)
Norwood -- Davis (slight concussion), Duigan (hamstring), Kite (jaw)
Port -- M. Clayton (concussion)
REPORTS
Port -- Hargraves (striking)
OTHER GRADE FINALS RESULTS
UNDER-17's
Preliminary Final -- Sturt 17.15 (117) def. North Adelaide 11.11 (77)
UNDER-19's
Elimination Final -- Port Adelaide 13.13 (91) def. Norwood 12.14 (86)
Qualifying Final -- Sturt 18.9 (117) def. Glenelg 16.18 (114)
RESERVES
Elimination Final -- Woodville-West Torrens 15.18 (108) def. Central District 9.6 (60)
Qualifying Final -- Glenelg 13.23 (101) def. North Adelaide 12.11 (83)
Next weekend in Week Two of the SANFL Finals Series...
Sunday September 21 @ Adelaide Oval
1st Semi-Final
Sturt vs. Norwood @ 12:10pm
2nd Semi-Final
Glenelg vs. Central District @ 3:10pm
OTHER GRADE FINALS
Sunday September 21 @ Adelaide Oval
Under-17's Grand Final -- Sturt vs. Port Adelaide @ 9:10am
Saturday September 20 @ Broadspectrum Oval, Richmond
Reserves 2nd Semi-Final -- Sturt vs. Glenelg @ 10:45am
Under-19's 1st Semi-Final -- Glenelg vs. Port Adelaide @ 2pm
Saturday September 20 @ Challenge Recruitment Oval, Glenelg
Reserves 1st Semi-Final -- North Adelaide vs. Woodville-West Torrens @ 11:15am
Under-19's 2nd Semi-Final -- Woodville-West Torrens vs. Sturt @ 2:30pm
So until next weekend... see you at the Footy!
This past weekend, the race for the premiership began in fine fashion with the Elimination and Qualifying finals kicking off the start of the 2008 SANFL Finals Series. Almost 16,000 SA footy-heads rushed through the Adelaide Oval turnstiles, the best turnout to a first week finals double header in a decade and was up by 40% on the same fixture last year. Unfortunately with a finals campaign comes some crushing exits...
... so with that in mind, lets see what happened in the Week One edition of the SANFL Finals Wrap-Up.
The turnstiles saw long lines turn up just before midday for the first league final for 2008 and the continuation of South Australia's original league football rivalry that has stood the test of time. First up in this week's wrap-up, the Elimination Final encounter between Port Adelaide and Norwood. The Magpies, notably absent from the 2007 finals after finishing sixth and an elimination final knockout in 2006 have not sat well with the Alberton faithful, who have not tasted premiership glory since 1999 when they defeated their arch-enemy in the Redlegs. The Redlegs have had an on and off season just like the Magpies, their last finals appearance was in 2002 but history will show that they are no strangers to Elimination Finals, where they hold a league record 12 victories which include their famous 1984 season and eventual premiership triumph against their black and white enemies. Last week, the 'Pies pushed aside the Eagles to enter the finals equation, but the Redlegs were coming off a loss to Glenelg.
The Magpies were expected to respond big time after Friday's passing of club legend Bob Quinn, but it was the Redlegs who responded best in the first quarter after they kicked 4.2 to Port's 3.3 to take a five point lead at quarter-time. The Redlegs were able to stretch that out in the second quarter, kicking an additional 5.2 to the Magpies' 4.2 to lead by 11 points at the long break. Norwood looked to be up against it before the second half began, with the loss of two players to injury they were down to 19 fit men for the next hour. But that didn't stop the Redlegs, in fact it had the opposite effect. After the Magpies stole the lead midway through the third term through Tim Looby, the Redlegs hit back hard and fast. James Gallagher led by example and Taylor Walker had a big hand on the scoring front, at the end of the third term the 'Legs were in front by 25 points after kicking 6.4 to 4.2. The Magpies seemed set to steal the lead again when they fired through three unanswered goals. The Magpies kicked 4.1 for the final term, but after the Redlegs composed themselves and added 3.3 to their score they could plan for next week. Norwood taking out a 21 point win and eliminating Port from finals football. Walker bagged seven goals, but Gallagher's leadership earned him best on ground votes for Norwood, while the Magpies named Jeremy Clayton as their best afield.
Most of the crowd stayed behind for the second match of the league finals double header and this week would mark the second time in so many weeks that these two teams have played each other. The Qualifying Final would see Sturt take on Central District. There's not much history in finals between these two sides, but the one that would count the most in the minds of both teams would be the 2002 decider where Sturt captured their first title for 26 years. It didn't take long for the Dogs to bounce back following that debacle, winning four of the next five flags. Sturt however, didn't have too much time to celebrate their premiership victory of that year after disaster struck the club's post-season festivities in Bali. The following year saw the club eliminated in the first week of finals and aside from a horrible eighth-placed 2006, successive finals appearances didn't see the team at AAMI Stadium on that first Sunday in October. As mentioned above, this would be the second week on the trot these sides would lock horns, with the Bulldogs winning the Round 23 game at Elizabeth by 16 points.
The Bulldogs had a lousy start to the day, managing just 1.1 but the Double Blues kicked an inaccurate 3.5 to lead by just 16 points at quarter-time. Brant Chambers finally bagged his 100th goal in the second quarter, which saw a good portion of the crowd invade the pitch to congratulate the 2008 Ken Farmer Medallist. But instead of that feat rallying the Blues into full-on action, that was one of just two goals Sturt scored for the quarter while the reigning premiers, albeit very inaccurately, got to within a kick of the lead at half-time with the Blues still in front by three points. The Double Blues seemingly regained control of the match in the third quarter after they kicked 4.3 to the Bulldogs' paltry 1.1 to take a 23 point lead going into the final change. The Blues fans would be forgiven for thinking that this one was in the bag, but history shows that when you write off the Bulldogs, they usually bite you in the backside. The Doggies rammed home four unanswered goals, with the clincher coming from Elijah Ware with minutes still left. Sturt's final roll of the dice came in the dying seconds, but Luke Crane's shot strayed for a minor score, one of two behinds for the final quarter. The Dogs won by three points, booking an encounter with Glenelg this coming Sunday. In a repeat of the Round 23 best on ground nominations, Captain Paul Thomas was named best afield for Central while Daniel Wicks was voted Sturt's best.
FINAL SCORES IN WEEK ONE OF THE SANFL FINALS
Sunday September 14
ELIMINATION FINAL
Norwood 18.11 (119)
Port Adelaide 15.8 (98)
QUALIFYING FINAL
Central District 9.13 (67)
Sturt 9.10 (64)
15,825 @ Adelaide Oval
INJURIES
Sturt -- Coad (hamstring)
Norwood -- Davis (slight concussion), Duigan (hamstring), Kite (jaw)
Port -- M. Clayton (concussion)
REPORTS
Port -- Hargraves (striking)
OTHER GRADE FINALS RESULTS
UNDER-17's
Preliminary Final -- Sturt 17.15 (117) def. North Adelaide 11.11 (77)
UNDER-19's
Elimination Final -- Port Adelaide 13.13 (91) def. Norwood 12.14 (86)
Qualifying Final -- Sturt 18.9 (117) def. Glenelg 16.18 (114)
RESERVES
Elimination Final -- Woodville-West Torrens 15.18 (108) def. Central District 9.6 (60)
Qualifying Final -- Glenelg 13.23 (101) def. North Adelaide 12.11 (83)
Next weekend in Week Two of the SANFL Finals Series...
Sunday September 21 @ Adelaide Oval
1st Semi-Final
Sturt vs. Norwood @ 12:10pm
2nd Semi-Final
Glenelg vs. Central District @ 3:10pm
OTHER GRADE FINALS
Sunday September 21 @ Adelaide Oval
Under-17's Grand Final -- Sturt vs. Port Adelaide @ 9:10am
Saturday September 20 @ Broadspectrum Oval, Richmond
Reserves 2nd Semi-Final -- Sturt vs. Glenelg @ 10:45am
Under-19's 1st Semi-Final -- Glenelg vs. Port Adelaide @ 2pm
Saturday September 20 @ Challenge Recruitment Oval, Glenelg
Reserves 1st Semi-Final -- North Adelaide vs. Woodville-West Torrens @ 11:15am
Under-19's 2nd Semi-Final -- Woodville-West Torrens vs. Sturt @ 2:30pm
So until next weekend... see you at the Footy!
