Australian Football

West Adelaide

With the exception of one all too brief halcyon era between 1908 and 1912 West Adelaide has never been consistently successful but there can be few clubs with so colourful and dramatic a history. More to the point, it is doubtful whether any other club in Australia has managed so regularly and with such consummate effectiveness to shoot itself in the foot.

Despite the fact that a club bearing the name West Adelaide appeared in the SAFA as early as 1887, it was not until 1892 that the present club of that name was formed. Between 1892 and 1894 the side was administered on a very informal basis and only took part in scratch matches. However, by 1895 club spirit and organisation had developed to such an extent that entry into an official competition was sought and secured. During two seasons as members of the Adelaide and Suburban Association West acquired a firm reputation as the strongest club outside senior ranks in the city. Consequently its admission to the SAFA surprised no one.

Unfortunately for West, however, the gap in standard between junior and senior football was considerable. In 1897 and 1898 the club played a total of 31 matches for just a single win and a draw. Many of the defeats were sizeable.

In 1899 the SAFA implemented district or ‘electorate’ football whereby players were obliged to play for the clubs from the electoral districts in which they resided. Many expected this to have a salutary effect on a struggling club like West, but while the competition as a whole evened out, the black and reds remained very much the Cinderella side of South Australian football. Even Sturt, which did not enter the SAFA until 1901, proved more competitive than West, reaching the finals for the first time in only their sixth season. At the beginning of the 1908 season, after eleven years in the competition, West had managed just 20 wins and 2 draws from 127 matches, which represents a paltry success rate of less than 17%. Conditions off the field did not exactly help. The club’s training ground in the west park lands was a rough and ready affair bisected by a cattle track, while the players were forced to change and wash in a wooden and iron shed possessing no hot water facility. Clubrooms were an unimaginable luxury, and home matches were shared between the Adelaide and Jubilee Ovals.

On the positive side of the ledger the club unearthed a succession of champion players during the early to middle years of the century’s first decade. Prominent among these were Tom Leahy, the ‘prince of ruckmen’, who would go on to win a Magarey Medal with North Adelaide in 1913, his brother Bernie, a redoubtable backman, follower James ‘Sorry’ Tierney, and centreman Henry ‘Dick’ Head - the last two of whom were West’s first ever Magarey Medallists, in 1908 and 1909 respectively.

"a season the like of which West supporters had never previously seen"

In 1908 these champions and others combined to produce a season the like of which West supporters had never previously seen, and which indeed they would seldom if ever witness again. After qualifying for the finals for the first ever time the black and reds ousted North Adelaide from premiership contention in a semi final by 15 points and then surprised everyone by trouncing minor premiers Norwood 6.15 (51) to 3.6 (24) in the final. The Redlegs exercised their right of challenge the following week and 22,000 spectators saw a much harder fought affair with West scraping home by 3 points, 7.10 (52) to 6.13 (49).

VFL premier Carlton then challenged West to a play-off for the ‘Championship of the Commonwealth’, a challenge which West were quick to accept. The match took place at Adelaide Oval in front of a crowd of 13,000, most of whom would have been surprised to see West win, let alone so emphatically. Final scores were West Adelaide 12.9 (81) to Carlton 7.10 (52). Best afield was West rover William ‘Shrimp’ Dowling, with team mates the Leahy brothers, Tierney, Peter Bruce and John McCarthy also outstanding. A contemporary account used the following words to describe West’s triumph:

The success of West Adelaide can be summed up in one word - system ..... The men kept their places, the shepherding was excellent, the ruck first class, and the kicking was good. In only one department of the game did Carlton excel, and that was in high marking ..... West Adelaide worked like a piece of well-oiled machinery, and they achieved a victory of which not only the club and their thousands of loyal supporters but the whole state feel justly proud. [1]

The 1909 season proved to be almost as good. After finishing the minor round in third position West were in indefatigable form during the finals downing West Torrens 7.18 (60) to 3.7 (25) in a semi final, Norwood 8.18 (66) to 5.8 (38) in the final, and minor premiers Port Adelaide in the challenge final 7.17 (59) to 6.5 (41) in front of 25,000 spectators. If there could be any criticism levelled at West’s performances it was that they had failed sufficiently to translate their general superiority into goals; at the end of the day though, at least as far as the SAFL finals were concerned, this did not really matter as the black and reds were comfortably superior, but a few weeks later in the Championship of Australia match it proved to be West’s undoing.

Unusually, the 1909 Championship of Australia play off took place in Melbourne, an indication perhaps of the greater respect which Victorians were developing for South Australian football, a respect based partly on West Adelaide’s memorable victory over Carlton the previous year. This time, however, there was to be no repetition, West going down to South Melbourne by 24 points, 6.14 (50) to 11.8 (74). West had at least as much of the general play as their opponents, but just as in the SANFL finals poor kicking for goal let them down.

After losing eight players from their premiership side of the previous year West slipped down the list to fifth in 1910. This proved to be just a temporary hiccup, however, for in 1911 the side was back to its best, winning the first 10 games of the season, and ultimately qualifying for the finals comfortably in second position. A 21 point semi final win over Sturt followed, with minor premiers Port Adelaide being bundled aside by 3 goals a fortnight later in the final. The challenge final saw Port providing more resolute opposition, but West ultimately got home by 5 points thanks in part to a late goal from skipper, Jos Dailey.

VFL premiers Essendon were West’s next opponents in the Championship of Australia play off. Held at Adelaide Oval, the match attracted a disappointing crowd of just 6,000 spectators, but those who stayed away missed an enthralling contest. For most of the day there was little between the sides, and the result could easily have gone either way. Ultimately though it was West who had their noses in front at the final bell by just 3 points. Final scores were West Adelaide 8.9 (57) to Essendon 7.12 (54). Dowling, Alec Conlin, Hele, Dailey and Head were among the best for the home side.

An interesting consequence of West’s twin triumphs in 1911 was a decision by the South Australian Brewing Company Ltd. to adopt red and black as the colours on the labels and bottle tops of its West End beer, a practice which continues to this day. (In the immediate wake of this innovation, West began somewhat quaintly to be referred to as the bottle tops, a practice which, not surprisingly, did not endure for quite so long.)

It was a case of history repeating itself in 1912 as West thrashed Sturt in a semi final and then twice accounted for minor premiers Port Adelaide to take out the flag. The challenge final, which West won 6.10 (46) to 5.2 (32), was watched by a South Australian record crowd of 28,500. ‘Dick’ Head, the ‘king of centremen’, was best afield.

West were disappointed when negotiations with VFL premiers Essendon to hold a Championship of Australia game fell through; in the opinion of most associated with the club, West’s 1912 side was superior in many respects to that of the previous year, and victory in such a game could confidently have been anticipated.

"the fall from grace"

As intimated at the outset, the period 1908 to 1912 remains far and away the most auspicious in West Adelaide’s history, and the fall from grace was to be unaccountably swift. Between 1913 and 1921 (and excluding the years 1916-18 when the competition went into mothballs because of the war) the black and reds won only 30 and drew 3 of 80 matches, reaching the finals just twice. It was almost as though the club’s five years of glory had never happened.

Improvement came as suddenly as the deterioration had set in. The apparent catalyst was the appointment of former Port Adelaide great ‘Shine’ Hosking as non-playing coach in 1922. Hosking was only the second ever West Adelaide coach, his sole predecessor being Jack ‘Dinny’ Reedman who had been in charge for a single season in 1908.

Under Hosking West scraped into the finals with 7 wins from 14 minor round games and immediately struck a rich vein of form in the semi final against West Torrens, winning by 33 points, 16.12 (108) to 11.9 (75). However, the old West failing of inaccuracy in front of goal surfaced in the final against minor premiers Norwood, costing the side whatever chance it might have had of causing an upset. West went down by 33 points after registering an inglorious 2.16 (28) to Norwood’s 9.7 (61).

Almost predictably, an epidemic of internal bickering during the close season saw West effectively cutting its own throat, the major immediate consequence of the squabbling being the departure of Hosking which left the side once again without a coach.

It took five years for the side to recover, and the improvement coincided with a move to new permanent headquarters at Wayville. It was the first time West had ever had a home ground that it could truly call its own; previously it had always shared its home venues with other clubs.

West celebrated by taking out the minor premiership in 1927. Surprisingly, despite having accumulated four premierships up to this point, this was the first time that West had ever finished the minor round on top of the ladder.

As things developed, the black and reds had ample cause to be grateful for this achievement, as a 4 point final loss to North Adelaide necessitated their invoking the right of challenge. Second time around against the same opposition they made no mistake, edging home by 13 points, 10.11 (71) to 8.10 (58), watched by a crowd of 33,222. It was to be the last time for twenty years that West supporters would have reason to celebrate.

a "preponderance of talent"

Consecutive third place finishes in 1928 and 1929 brought to an end a decade that yielded considerably less in terms of achievement than might have been expected given the preponderance of talent at the club - players like Bobbie Barnes, Bruce McGregor, Bob Snell, Vic Peters, Harry Lee, Jack ‘Snowy’ Hamilton, Jack Bishop, Harold Solomon and Chris Bennett, who collectively provided firm proof of the adage that ‘champion players do not necessarily make a champion team’.

Unfortunately, the 1930s were to prove to be even less auspicious for West. Between 1930 and 1940 the side failed to make the finals even once, winning barely 27% of all matches contested, a record bettered even by the league’s newest club, Glenelg. In 1933 West suffered the ultimate ignominy of losing every single match played (a total of 17), while from mid-1937 to mid-1938 the side contrived to lose 11 consecutive home matches, easily a club record.

Despite this West Adelaide was still home to a large number of prodigious talents including Bernie Mattiske, Colin Smith, Ray McArthur, Horrie Powell, Johnny, Don and Laurie Taylor, Jack Broadstock, and, all too briefly, 1931 Magarey Medallist Jack Sexton. [2]

In 1941 West reached the major round for the first time in twelve years. A 16 point win over Port Adelaide in the first semi final raised hopes, but eventual premiership side Norwood proved too strong in the preliminary final, winning by 25 points, 9.16 (70) to 6.9 (45).

"rather more thereabouts than there"

The SANFL conducted a scaled down competition between 1942 and 1944 with the eight clubs being paired off on a more or less geographical basis. West’s partners during this period were Glenelg and, bearing in mind the recent records of the two clubs, a hard time ahead might have been predicted. However, in its first year the combine surprised, reaching the grand final where it suffered a narrow loss in a high standard game to Port Adelaide-West Torrens. All told, West Adelaide-Glenelg won 18 of 42 matches played, the third best record of the four war time combinations. With the resumption of full scale competition in 1945 West were set to embark on the longest sequence of consistently being either there or thereabouts in the club’s history; unfortunately, however, it tended to be a case of rather more thereabouts than there. In the nineteen seasons between 1945 and 1963 West contested the finals on thirteen occasions, reaching the grand final seven times. However, only twice, in 1947 and 1961, was the team good enough to claim the ultimate prize.

West Adelaide’s 1947 premiership side was arguably the best credentialled in the club’s history containing as it did players of the calibre and high renown of Johnny Taylor (203 games between 1936 and 1949), Bernie Smith (who played 55 games with West before going on to win a Brownlow Medal and play in two premiership teams with Geelong), Colin Smith (215 games from 1934 to 1949), Fos Williams (54 games with West and later coach of nine Port Adelaide premiership sides), and Brian Faehse (222 games between 1944 and 1956).

After finishing the minor round in third position with 10 wins and 7 defeats West proceeded to outclass both Sturt (by 59 points) in the first semi final and Port Adelaide (by 38 points) in the preliminary final. The grand final opposition was provided by Norwood, and West surprised most observers by controlling a low scoring affair from start to finish to get home by 5 goals, 10.15 (75) to 5.15 (45). Best afield was half back flanker Bernie Smith , with the victors also well served by rover Fos Williams, centreman Gar Burkett, centre half back Brian Faehse and follower Johnny Taylor.

Within three years all but Faehse had left the club - yet more evidence of West’s inveterate propensity to shoot itself in the foot.

West struggled between 1950 and 1953, missing the finals each year, but by 1954 they had rebuilt sufficiently well to contest another grand final. The opponents this time were Port Adelaide, and the pattern which events took in the match was to become sickeningly familiar to those associated with West over the course of the next decade.

By half time the black and reds had established a comfortable 25 point lead and seemed firmly in the box seat. However, an incident just before the half time bell effectively changed the match. West centre half back Brian Faehse felled Port centreman Dave Boyd with a fierce but legitimate shirt front, and an all in brawl developed. Then, as the West players tried to leave the field, they were besieged by angry Port supporters, with several players suffering actual physical assault.

Hardly surprisingly, it was the Port players who settled down more swiftly after the interval, and by three quarter time West’s lead had been trimmed to just 2 points. A frenetic last term saw Port clinging desperately to a narrow lead late on as West piled on the pressure, but fate was against the black and reds as numerous opportunities went begging, a shot from West rover Jim Wright in the dying seconds even hitting the goal post. Final scores were Port Adelaide 11.13 (79) to West Adelaide 10.16 (76), and West players and supporters had some justification - and not for the last time - for feeling ‘robbed’.

After an abysmal 1955 campaign which saw the team slide to second from bottom West were back as a force the following year, reaching the grand final only to succumb once more to Port Adelaide. There could be few arguments this time, however, with the Magpies never looking in any serious danger as they took out the flag by 16 points, 12.9 (81) to 9.11 (65).

In 1957 Jack Oatey took over from Laurie Cahill as coach but West went down in the preliminary final to Oatey’s former club, Norwood.

In 1958, West Adelaide played their its first league match at the club’s purpose-built new home ground of Richmond Oval. The result was a 10 point win over West Torrens, and West went on to record victories in all but one of their home fixtures for the season. They were almost as impressive away from Richmond, winning 15 out of 18 minor round matches all told to secure the minor premiership for only the second ever time. A comfortable 26 point defeat of North Adelaide in the second semi final followed, but the grand final was to produce yet another agonising (from a black and red perspective) twist in the ongoing West Adelaide-Port Adelaide saga.

A near record crowd of 54,282 witnessed the 1958 grand final in which West seemed in control for long periods only for the Magpies to repeatedly fight back and keep themselves within striking distance. With nine minutes to go Port hit the front and, despite being under pressure for most of the remainder of the game, managed to hold onto their lead until the end. As if to rub salt into the wound, with ninety seconds remaining a shot from West ruckman Jack Richardson hit the goal post, leaving the Blood ‘n Tars just 2 points in arrears. Even then West had another chance to recapture the lead, a set shot from Colin Brown failing to make the distance from just forty yards out in the closing seconds. The final scoreboard read Port Adelaide 14.10 (94) to West Adelaide 14.8 (92), with the losers best served by Jeff Bray, Ken McGregor, Jim Wright, Ken Eglinton and Bert Johnson.

A piece of football folklore was created in the aftermath of the 1958 grand final as a group of West Adelaide supporters returned to Adelaide Oval late the same night and made off with the ‘infamous’ goal post which had got in the way of Jack Richardson’s late shot.

Almost unbelievably, the 1959 season was to yield similar heart break to 1958. West finished the minor round as runners-up to Port Adelaide but then comprehensively outplayed the Magpies to the tune of 25 points in the second semi final to go straight through to the ‘big one’. However, on grand final day it was the same old story as Port managed to raise their game just sufficiently to keep out a fast finishing Blood ‘n Tars combination and win by 10 points, 13.9 (87) to 11.11 (77). Best for Westies included wingman Ken Eglinton in the last of his 163 games for the club, Neil Kerley, Ken Eustice, Trevor Barker and Paul Garnett.

After slumping to fourth in 1960 Jack Oatey departed to be replaced as coach by Neil Kerley. Under Kerls the Blood ‘n Tars proved irrepressible in 1961, taking out the minor premiership and then overwhelming arch rivals Port Adelaide in the second semi by 17 points, 11.24 (90) to 9.19 (73). After Norwood surprisingly accounted for the Magpies in the following week’s preliminary final West, having already outpointed the Redlegs in two of their three previous meetings for the season, entered the grand final as odds on favourites. Moreover, there was the clear advantage of having had a week’s rest while Norwood were slogging their way to an energy-sapping 2 point victory over Port.

"the Turkish bath grand final" 

As it turned out, fitness and freshness were even more of the essence than usual, as the grand final took place in unprecedented heat which saw the thermometer rise to over 96 degrees Fahrenheit during the opening term. In retrospect, the match can be seen to have been won and lost during that initial phase, with West changing ends at quarter time only 9 points down despite Norwood having had the advantage of a 3 or 4 goal northerly breeze. Over the final three quarters the Blood ‘n Tars held sway all over the ground as they surged to a comfortable 36 point victory, 16.13 (109) to 11.7 (73). Notable performances for the victors in a match quickly dubbed by the press ‘the Turkish bath grand final’ came from Kerley, Trevor Reu, Eustice, Ron Benton, John Ryan and Brian De Broughe.

If there was a tinge of disappointment amidst the euphoria which inevitably attends a premiership victory it was to do with the fact that West’s grand final victims had not been the detested Magpies. A year later, however, West had the opportunity to put the record straight. Despite suffering the indignity of a 73 point second semi final hiding against Port, West fronted up to the Magpies again on grand final day in confident frame of mind having returned to form in the previous week’s preliminary final against Norwood. The fact that no two games of football are ever the same was amply demonstrated as Port and West locked horns in one of the tightest grand finals in SANFL history. In a low scoring affair the lead changed hands repeatedly, but not quite repeatedly enough for Westies, who found themselves 3 points adrift at the final siren. The final scores were Port 8.10 (58) to West 7.13 (55), with commendable performances for the Blood ‘n Tars coming from Kerley, Alan Tregenza, Jeff Bennetts, De Broughe and Reu.

It was to be West’s last grand final appearance for twenty-two seasons.

Future prospects were not helped soon after the 1962 grand final when the powers that be at Richmond Oval decided to dispense with Neil Kerley’s services as coach and replace him with Doug Thomas. Despite his success in masterminding the club's 1961 premiership, Kerley was seen as something of a firebrand, and his frequent clashes with club president Cliff Semmler obviously did nothing to further his cause. In addition, he was believed to be seeking more money than the committee was prepared to pay.

The upshot of it all, however, was that West immediately went into decline. Between 1963 and 1980 the club only contested five finals series, with third place in 1969 under Murray Weideman and in 1977 under Fos Williams representing their best efforts. During that time no fewer than eight different coaches were tried with only Weideman, at the helm from 1968-71, even managing to balance the ledger in terms of wins against losses. Weideman, a 179 game veteran with Collingwood, who later went on to coach that club, believed that a prime cause of West’s failure was a lack of mental toughness on the part of players:

"I played in the same side as those West Adelaide players (for two years) and did the hard work for them ..... And then when I took over as non-playing coach and asked them to do the rough work for me I found they were treating me too much as a mate."[3]

As ever, West fielded its share of high quality players, even during what was arguably the most inauspicious era in the club’s history. (What is unarguable is that twenty-two years between grand final appearances represents an unparalleled barren spell.) Prominent among these were ruckman Dexter Kennedy, who at just fifteen years and eleven months of age in May 1970 when he made his debut was the youngest player ever to appear in the SANFL; London-born Bob Loveday, who played 263 games for West between 1963 and 1978 as well as both captaining and coaching the side; three time Trabilsie Medallist [4] and 1966 All Australian Robert Day; former Hawthorn star Bob Keddie; 209 game defender Rodney Pope, who went on to play with equal distinction for Norwood; 1977 Magarey Medallist Trevor Grimwood;[5] and 1979 All Australian Geoff Morris, who alone of the above was still at the peak of his ability as a player when the Bloods next tasted premiership success in 1983.

the two returns of 'King Kerley'

Ironically, the architect of that premiership success turned out to be the same as twenty-one years earlier. In 1981, ‘King’ Kerley was lured back ‘home’ after having repeatedly demonstrated his coaching prowess elsewhere.[6] As ever, the response of the team was both immediate and dramatic, 6 wins and narrow avoidance of the wooden spoon in 1980 being transformed into 11 wins and a berth in the elimination final during Kerley’s first season in charge twelve months later. West did even better in terms of wins in 1982, but missed the finals on percentage. It was becoming obvious, however, that the side was rapidly maturing into something special, and in 1983 everything slotted into place as the Bloods proceeded to win all bar four of their minor round matches to secure the minor premiership with ease. A 24.16 (160) to 13.8 (86) second semi-final triumph over Norwood followed, and when grand final day arrived with Sturt providing the opposition there were few who doubted where the premiership pennant was heading. The Double Blues managed to keep in touch for a quarter and a bit, but West always seemed to have something in reserve and once they broke clear there was no stopping them. Best for the Bloods in a 21.16 (142) to 16.12 (108) win included skipper Ian Borchard, whose performance earned him the Jack Oatey Medal for best afield, Geoff Morris, Peter Meuret, Leon Grosser and Robbie McKinnon.

The side was ravaged by injuries to star players in 1984 and dropped to sixth place. Kerley left the club at the end of the year and his replacement as coach, John Cahill, was to remain in charge for the following three seasons. During Cahill’s stint as coach the Bloods managed a creditable third in 1985 followed by a disappointing decline to seventh in each of the following two campaigns.

Progress under Cahill’s successor, Kevin Morris, was slow, but by 1991 the team was widely considered to be strong enough to challenge for a premiership. However, a calamitous start to the season brought only 3 wins from the opening 11 matches and at that stage even finals participation appeared unlikely. Thereafter, though, West proved to be the form team of the competition, winning 9 of their last 11 fixtures to leapfrog Norwood and Glenelg and eventually claim fifth spot going into the major round. An 84 point elimination final defeat of Port Adelaide would have brought particular satisfaction to West supporters with memories stretching as far back as the 1950s and early 1960s, and when this was followed by comfortable wins over Woodville-West Torrens in the first semi final and South Adelaide in the preliminary final, expectations in the Bloods’ camp understandably soared. However, on grand final day North Adelaide was a fresher, hungrier and altogether more talented team than West, winning a spiteful game by 75 points, 21.22 (148) to 11.7 (73). Glenn Goss, Darren Carlson, Dean Schumann and Brian Winton did well for the losers, but after a closely fought first term the result was never really in doubt.

Kevin Morris departed in controversial circumstances shortly after the grand final and, amidst allegations of back stabbing and stories of a club that was split asunder, favourite son Neil Kerley was invited to resume the coaching hot seat. Sadly for West it was to be a case of third time unlucky as the team failed to perform to potential, missing the finals in each of Kerley’s two seasons in charge.

Former star player with the club Geoff Morris (no relation to Kevin) took over as coach in 1994 and, in what was by this stage an extremely even SANFL competition, narrowly failed to get his charges into the major round.

In 1995 the Bloods scraped into the finals in the most dramatic of circumstances with a last round victory over Glenelg, while their rivals for fifth spot, South Adelaide, were losing a thriller against Norwood. However, North Adelaide quickly ended West’s premiership aspirations with a 20 point elimination final triumph. Glenn Kilpatrick’s joint Magarey Medal win afforded some consolation.

Former Norwood and Collingwood player Michael Taylor took over the coaching duties in 1996 but events proceeded in much the same way as twelve months earlier: the Bloods reached the finals, only to succumb at the first hurdle, this time to Woodville-West Torrens.

Things got even worse in 1997 as the side failed to qualify for the major round, finishing sixth. However, in 1998 there was major improvement as the Bloods qualified for the finals in second spot with many observers regarding them as, physically, the toughest team in the league. This reputation was enhanced with a hard fought qualifying final victory over reigning premiers Norwood, but then the old, familiar West Adelaide inconsistency re-emerged: Sturt was comfortably victorious in the second semi final and, even more humiliatingly, Port Adelaide overran the Bloods in the preliminary final amassing 7.8 to 0.0 in the last term to win by 77 points.

The rot continued in 1999 and 2000 as West plummeted down the list to sixth and then seventh. Coach Michael Taylor departed at the end of the 2000 season after a club record five consecutive seasons at the helm.

Season 2001 at least brought a measure of improvement as the Bloods qualified for the finals but any satisfaction was short-lived as Norwood secured a comprehensive victory in the elimination final. It was more or less the same story a year later, albeit that on this occasion it was the Eagles who inflicted the coup de grace.

In 2003, with former Adelaide and Hawthorn as well as West Adelaide ruckman Shaun Rehn installed as coach, the Bloods made their most concerted stab at a premiership for over a decade. After qualifying for the finals in second place the side overcame the disappointment of a narrow second semi final loss against Central District to enter its first grand final since 1991 via the back door of a 30-point preliminary final defeat of the Eagles. The team’s performance in the preliminary final suggested that it was returning to the sort of form which had seen it emerge as the league’s pace-setter during the first half of the season, but sadly on grand final day it proved unable to cope with Centrals’ controlled aggression, cohesive team qualities, and pace. The Bulldogs won by 34 points, 17.9 (111) to 11.11 (77).

In 2004, injuries to key players effectively ruined the team’s chances, with fifth position following a 33-point elimination final loss to North Adelaide probably representing the best return possible in the circumstances. Much worse was to follow, however. In 2005 the Bloods managed just 3 wins from 20 matches for the season and plummeted to their first wooden spoon in more than three decades. Hardly surprisingly perhaps, senior coach Shaun Rehn opted to resign.

Under Rehn’s successor as coach, Wayne Weidemann, there was no immediate improvement. Far from it, in fact, as the side managed a mere 2 wins in 2006 to succumb to the indignity of a second successive wooden spoon. There was more ignominy in store in 2007 as the side’s 3-17 record was once again the poorest in the competition, and for the first time in more than a century Westies had finished last on three consecutive occasions.

Twelve months later, there had been little if any observable improvement as the Bloods again finished a distant and dismal last. A year later, however, there was at last some cause for optimism as the side enjoyed a season full of promise which ultimately saw them finish sixth, their highest placing since 2004, and a result that was repeated in 2010. The 2011 season saw the Bloods drop a rung on the premiership ladder to seventh before procuring long overdue finals participation in 2012 when they ultimately finished runners-up to Norwood. The following year saw Westies again qualifying for the finals and although they were unable to achieve back to back grand final appearances they did enjoy the financially lucrative compensation of defeating East Fremantle to win the Foxtel Cup.

"a quite unfathomable roller coaster ride"

The next three seasons brought a quite unfathomable roller coaster ride in which a premiership in 2015 was sandwiched between a ninth place finish in 2014 and a wooden spoon in 2016.

The 2015 premiership obviously warrants more detailed discussion. During the 2015 minor round it was Woodville-West Torrens, not West, who caught the eye. The Eagles finished top of the ladder with a 16-2 record compared to 11-7 for third placed Westies. The finals, however, are by common if somewhat hackneyed consent a whole different ball game, although the Bloods would face frustration before they experienced fulfilment.

The qualifying final pitted West against Port Adelaide, who were widely favoured to win, and until half time they looked to be more or less on course as they led by 3 points, 5.2 to 4.5. The Bloods then unleashed what proved to be a match-winning third quarter burst of 4 unanswered goals and they went on to secure victory by 29 points, 10.10 (70) to 6.5 (41).

There then followed a spanner in the works in the shape of Woodville-West Torrens in the second semi final. The Eagles teamed better, were more decisive and purposeful, and although West finished the match strongly the men from Woodville Oval had done enough in the first three quarters to earn victory. Final scores were Eagles 11.13 (79) defeated West 9.11 (65).

The Bloods bounced back in the following week’s preliminary final when they comfortably accounted for a Central District team which had hitherto been in excellent form. Watched by 7,128 spectators West blew the Bulldogs off the Adelaide Oval to the tune of 53 points, 15.8 (98) to 6.9 (45), setting up a re-match with the Eagles in the flag decider.

If a week is a long time in politics then a fortnight in football can seem like an eternity. This time around the boot was firmly on the other foot as the Bloods led from the off, accumulating 54 more first term possessions than the Eagles as they eked out a 13 point advantage. The second and third quarters were quite evenly contested but although the Eagles got to within 9 points not long before the last change the Bloods still had something in reserve and moved out to a 14 point lead at lemon time. During the last term it was all West as they added 2.5 to 0.1 to win by 5 straight kicks, 11.12 (78) to 7.6 (48). A modest crowd for a grand final of 25,625 saw West skipper collect both the Thomas Seymour Hill trophy and the Jack Oatey Medal for best afield.

“We came here with a plan to be physical in a football sense and put pressure on the opposition,’’ Bloods coach Mark Mickan said. “We wanted to move the ball with enterprise.

“The Eagles are a quality side and were always going to come back at us. But our ability to withstand those surges and kick ahead was exceptional.’’[7]

Subsequent seasons have seen the Bloods' fortunes nosedive. They plummeted to the wooden spoon in 2016 and avoided it only narrowly the following year before improving slightly in 2018 to move up to seventh position on the premiership ladder.

Given the limited resources available it is doubtful if West will ever be able to create a dynasty on the order of those established at Alberton or the Parade, not to mention Elizabeth in more recent times, but a continuation of the club’s habit of winning a premiership every decade or so - coupled with more than the occasional wooden spoon, perhaps - looks perfectly feasible.