Australian Football

Match Report

At the same time over at House Brothers Oval in Unley, the Double Blues faced the Bloods. The match where this rivalry was derived requires SA footy-heads to look at the football budgets from 25 years past, to season 1983. In the two matches between the two sides that year, Sturt won at Richmond with Rick Davies kicking 16, the Bloods reversing that result at Unley which saw them take out the minor premiership. Then came the Grand Final where these two teams faced off for the Thomas Seymour Hill Trophy for the first and only time. Again Neil Kerley weaved his magic on his charges, taking out the 1983 premiership by 34 points. Since then, the Bloods have appeared in a losing Grand Final while Sturt lost the '98 final but then won the 2002 flag.

West fans would have been happy to relive the memories or for newer fans to just know there were greener pastures at one stage. 

The Double Blues were up by 15 points at quarter-time, they could have really blown it out had their early skills been more slick. But that slickness wasn't gone long, as Sturt opened up a serious can of whoop-ass in the second term. They kicked 7.3 to West's lousy 2.4 to extend that gap to 44 points by the half-time break. West coach Andy Collins has already mooted a clean-out at season's end, his list should be long and harsh going by their third quarter effort. The margin would be out to 81 points by the final change, after the home side added a further 6.2 to an extremely poor one behind by West. They finished the job off with another six goal term to close the match, winning by 99 points in front of almost 3,500 people. 

Brant Chambers and Ian Perrie shared 11 goals, but it was Jade Sheedy that was voted best for the Blues. Murray Hamblin was voted Westies' best in a day devoid of positives for the Bloods.