Match Report[]
Courtesy of RA Boyle at Australianfootball.com.au
AAMI Stadium, Football Park, the home of South Australian football. Its been the place where hopes and dreams have been dashed, realised or both for almost 40 years. It was only fitting that in the last grand final for the previous century was played out between the league's youngest teams in Central District and Woodville-West Torrens. This was where the dominance of the Bulldogs began and the beginning of the Eagles' nightmares. In the period between 2000 and 2010, these two met in five grand finals. The Bulldogs put the Eagles to the sword in four outings, including a record 125-point humiliation in 2004. The Eagles would finally break the hoodoo in 2006 with a 76-point hiding of the Dogs. This unbelievable run in grand finals has also seen the Bulldogs add the prized scalp of Norwood, in addition to wins against the Bloods (2003), Roosters (2007), Tigers (2008) and a revenge match against their 2002 assailants in the Double Blues (2009). Don't let the Dogs' near flawless season fool you, several victories in 2011 would not come easy and injuries to some key personnel during the year would put small chinks in their armor. Despite coming off a horrid Qualifying Final loss to the Redlegs, the Eagles would take on a whole different mentality for the fortnight that followed. While the Bulldogs went straight to the decider after humbling Norwood, the Eagles cut the Panthers to pieces and then proceeded to finish off the wounded Redlegs in their sudden-death finals matches. The Bulldogs had taken wins from all three of their matches this year, including two visits to the Oval Avenue nest. The Eagles would start off strong, the first goal coming at the second minute as Lee Staple landed home a set shot from 50 metres, then Chris Hall bobbed up at four minutes to score their second. The Eagles were strong out back, it took until eight minutes for the Bulldogs to take their first goal as Ryan Williams scored from 40 metres. But that would be the only major the Dogs would get in the opening term as the Eagles added two more majors through young gun Jimmy Toumpas and Adam Grocke would give them a three-goal gap at quarter-time. The Dogs finally found their goal-kicking boots in the second term, Kyle Jenner's snap giving the Dogs a major in the first minute followed by a James Gowans score at the fourth brought the Eagles back to within a kick. The Eagles would catch a case of the wobbles at their scoring zone during this term, after a miss early on they would finally hit back through Grocke's fifth minute goal. Stephen Tiller's 60 metre punt would surely have taken goal of the day at nine minutes, then Scott Lewis prior to the 12th minute would see the Eagles out to a 21-point lead at the break after some behinds and a third Centrals goal through Luke Habel. At half-time, it was Eagles 7.6 to Central 4.3. When play recommenced, the inaccuracy bug made an untimely foray into the Bulldogs camp as they sprayed several opportunities on goal while the Eagles' accuracy improved. You could also say that the Eagles were playing more like the Bulldogs than the Centrals players were as they were beating them in the stats that mattered. Although the Bulldogs would be first on the board in the third quarter through a fourth minute goal, there would end up being five wasted shots from the eight scores the Dogs took. The Eagles would add a further 4.2 as Leigh Treeby got them started again at nine minutes. At three quarter-time, the Eagles held a four goal lead. But the Bulldogs must have been saving their best for last as they staged a heart-stopping comeback. Daniel Havelberg kickstarted the Dogs into action with his third minute goal, then another at the fifth minute as the Bulldogs fans clung to hope. A Matt Goldsworthy goal at 12 minutes eased some Eagles fans hearts, but the Dogs would keep coming. After two straight behinds, Brayden O'Hara and Lee Spurr brought the gap back to four points. But unfortunately for the Dogs, a miss from Spurr with seconds to go would see the Eagles triumph by three points. The 2011 flag would go to Woodville-West Torrens, the first club for 35 years to win the premiership from the 1st Semi-Final since Sturt in 1976. It would be a day to remember for Craig Parry, not only named best for the Eagles but also the winner of the Jack Oatey Medal. Paul Thomas would be named best for the Bulldogs. The unfortunate factor in this premiership decider would have been the attendance, only a touch over 25,000 SA footy-heads in the arena.
Scores[]
Central District 1.1.7 4.3.27 7.8.50 11.12.78
Woodville-West Torrens 4.2.26 7.6.48 11.8.74 12.9.81
| SAFA/SAFL/SANFL Grand Finals |
|---|
|
1889 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 |