Australian Football

Match Report

Following the Elimination final it was time for the Qualifying Final, to be contested between the Bulldogs and the Double Blues. For the past few years, one other goal of the eight opposing SANFL clubs other than the premiership has been this... knock off the Bulldogs. Although unused to playing in Qualifying Finals a lot, it has not been a hard ask for the Dogs who have contested every 2nd Semi-Final since 2000. But Sturt can lay claim to a major defeat of Centrals, that being the 2002 Grand Final. The Blues humiliated the reigning premiers in Round 10 as they romped to an 85-point hammering at Unley. The Dogs bit back under the lights of Elizabeth in Round 22 with a three-goal win, but then suffered a Round 23 loss to the Redlegs at The Parade. These two aren't strangers in Qualifying Finals, in the 2008 finals series, the Bulldogs pulled off a miraculous final term recovery to win by three points on their way to their seventh flag. Centrals would go in without three key members -- Andrew Hayes, Ian Callinan and seven time premiership player Matthew Slade. Sturt would miss out on the services of Brant Chambers, who will take another Ken Farmer Medal very soon. Two players were on their 200th career match... one being Blues captain and 2002 Magarey Medallist Jade Sheedy and the other, one half of the Bulldogs' heavyweight "tag team" duo and multiple time State representative, James Gowans.

The match was set to be low scoring, a late light shower at the end of the Elimination Final and again during the first quarter made for slippery conditions which calmed down later on. Sturt started off best, Centrals wasting chances on goal early on as the Blues took a five-point lead at quarter-time, 2.3 to 1.4. The Dogs found more of the big sticks in the second quarter, but so did the Blues. Only behinds made any difference to the gap, those behind going Sturt's way and the gap was extended to seven points at the long break, Sturt 5.5 to Central 4.4. When play resumed another low scoring quarter would occur, but this time it was the Dogs with the momentum in contrast with the first term. They kicked 2.4 to Sturt's 1.3 to even things up at 44 points a piece going into the final quarter. The Blues found themselves on the receiving end of some good fortune thanks to a silly mistake by a Bulldog backman, a goal followed by a free-kick in front of goal within 30 seconds to Charlie Sharples. The Bulldogs weren't finished though, they kicked 5.1 to the Blues 4.1 to win by six points, the Gowans tag team and Jon Giles combining to send their team into a match up with Glenelg next week. 

Jason Mackenzie was voted best for Centrals, while Jade Sheedy was named best for Sturt.