Australian Football

Match Report

In the final match for the round, its time for some twilight football at the ACH Group Stadium in Glenelg between the Tigers and the Bloods. Last season, these sides traded blows and victories in their two games. It began in Round 4 with the Bloods winning by 16 points at Richmond and finished with the Tigers inflicting a 74-point hammering at Glenelg in Round 11. The Tigers flag defence finished at the 1st Semi in the first week of the 2020 Finals Series, while the Bloods ended up with the wooden spoon in the shortened season. The Bloods put together a long shopping list in the off season, which most notably saw the return of Jono Beech to Milner Street and were starting seven league debutants for this match. The Tigers also welcomed back some formers themselves, with Lachlan Hosie and Toby Pink coming back from the east. This afternoon was also the launch of the Tigers' centenary celebrations, the players running onto the field in a replica of their original 1921 guernsey.

The Tigers' started off on the right note in that regard, running off to a 32-point lead by quarter-time with their score of 6.3 to 1.1. However in the second term, they slowed down to a crawl and would only managed a pair of behinds. The Bloods didn't fully capitalise on the Bays' sudden scoring funk, they spurned a swag of opportunities to cut the gap back to three straight kicks by the long break. Westies scored 2.7, the home side still ahead by 15 points at half-time. The Tigers got back on track when play resumed, scoring 6.2 to the Bloods' four goals without a miss to go into the final change with a 29-point advantage. The inexperienced Bloods almost pulled off an unbelievable heist late in the final term as the home side suddenly got a case of the inaccuracy bug, but Glenelg's defence kept them at arm's length to escape their grasp. West kicked 4.4, falling short by nine points against the Tigers' 1.4. 

Darcy Bailey was voted Glenelg's best with 28 disposals, two goals and six tackles, while the Bloods named current B&F winner Isaac Johnson as their best with his three goals and 23 disposals.