Australian Football

Match Report

In the final match of Round 5, the Saturday action was at the Alberton Oval, where the Magpies faced the Bulldogs. Close to 2100 days had passed since the Magpies had downed the Doggies, a record the black and white faithful aren't used to against anyone. The Dogs have had the better of the 'Pies for the previous 11 matches, including a 41-point Round 21 victory last year. The Dogs needed to prove themselves here, the win against South was just the first step.

The first term would see the Dogs take a two-goal lead at quarter-time, after they kicked 3.2 to 1.2 in the opening term. But when the light rain started to come down, the Dogs went nuts. Exposing almost every little flaw in Port's game plan, the Bulldogs kicked 6.3 to 2.2 in the second term to take a 37-point lead at the long break. Don't let the following scorelines fool you, the 'Pies could only keep up from this point on in a quarter-by-quarter way... the Dogs were hungrier for the hard ball get. Centrals added a further 4.1 to Port's four goals without a miss in the third quarter, at the final break the Dogs still had a 38-point lead. The final term was the only time the home side outscored the Dogs, but an inaccurate 4.5 to 3.2 would hardly make up the gap as the Dogs left Alberton with a 29-point win.

Jacob Templeton was named best afield for Centrals, while Steven Summerton was named best for the Magpies.