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Central District vs West Adelaide

Scoreboard | Match report

QF   Venue: Football Park   Date: Sun, 16-09-2012 12:10 pm   Crowd: 7,126 (Avg 3,563)  
Central District 2.4.165.4.347.8.508.10.58  
West Adelaide 3.4.226.4.408.5.5313.7.85  
  WEST by 6WEST by 6WEST by 3WEST by 27  

Match Report

Every year, the minor premiers would be keeping watch on both teams at this time of the season, because the victor would be their first finals opponent next week. This time around, it was the Bulldogs facing the Bloods. This match isn't anything new for the Dogs, from the year they broke through to their first title to last year they have played in four of them and won all four. The Bloods haven't made an appearance in this match since 1998 when they defeated the Redlegs, although in 2003 they played the Dogs in the 2nd Semi-Final in the Final Four trial year in which they lost. They would fall again in the decider against Centrals, who took their third flag at West's expense. In the all-time records of Qualifying Finals, the Bloods have played in two games with 50-50 results. That single loss came against Glenelg in the centenary year of 1977 followed by the previously mentioned victory in 1998. The Dogs have played in nine games, aside from the aforementioned four victories during the 2000's they had lost the other five with the last two coming at the hands of Port Adelaide in 1994 and 1997 with the other three happening during the 1980's.

This season, the Bloods have managed to embarrass the Bulldogs in two out of three encounters. In Round 3, Westies took a 16-point win at Richmond, the Bulldogs shooting on goal was horrible as they scored 7.12. The Dogs managed to take some points off the Bloods in Round 11 with a 27-point win at the Ponderosa but when the Bloods returned in Round 20 they overturned that result with a rare victory at Elizabeth. The opening quarter saw both sides battling the inaccuracy bug, the Bloods would be on top at the first change after they kicked 3.4 to 2.4. At quarter-time, West were ahead by a goal. The arm-wrestling contest continued in the second quarter, the deficit would be unchanged at the long break after both sides kicked three goals each without a miss and leaving West up by that single kick at half-time. When play resumed, the Bulldogs managed to take the lead part-way through the third quarter, but the Bloods had plenty of answers despite the reduced advantage to keep themselves ahead. Inaccuracy was now Centrals' problem only, they kicked 2.4 to West's 2.1 to cut the gap down to three points. But this wasn't going to be the Bulldogs' day, the Bloods sending them and their fans into unfamiliar territory and a sudden-death date with North after kicking away to a 27-point win after they scored 5.2 to 2.2 in the final term. The Bloods will now face the Redlegs to decide the first participant in the Grand Final.

As for best on ground, West named final term hero Brad Fisher as their best, while the Dogs voted in Brad Symes.

Source

Match report by RA Boyle

Footnotes

Video sourced from YouTube, courtesy of ABC State Footy.

Footnotes

* Behinds calculated from the 1965 season on.
+ Score at the end of extra time.