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Premiership season 2006 - Round 9 Review

Total Crowd 13,684 (Avg 3,421)

Finally the Bloods have something to cheer about. Weeks and weeks of pain which almost became too much for the most hardiest of West Adelaide supporters came to an end this past weekend. Even more surprising was the fact that it was against a home team in the top five! A classic struggle erupted at the Bay, the final result coming down to less than one straight kick.


So now lets explore Round 9 in this week's edition of the SANFL Wrap-Up...

The first match of the round was a 'home' match for the Roosters at the Thebarton Oval against the Eagles. The Eagles had a key arsenal of current AFL listed players who had a big impact later on in this game, which started with them taking the first quarter lead of eight points, 4.3 to North's 3.1. But that's where North's influence on any part of the match ended as the real home team blitzed away to a 26 point lead in the second term. The Eagles kicked an additional seven goals without a miss, the Roosters' inaccuracy cost them big-time as they could only manage three goals from nine scoring shots. The juggernaut kept rolling after the half time break, another 7.4 to North's 2.3 putting the Eagles up 57 points at three-quarter time. The gap just got larger in the final quarter, the Eagles added another 5.2 to North's 1.4 to win by 79 points. Justin Cicolella was named best for the Eagles, Shaun Gatto was one of North's few shining lights.

Meanwhile over at Alberton Oval, the Magpies were about to get the biggest shock of their season at the hands of the visiting Bloods. It didn't look that way early on in the piece, the Magpies led by 10 points at quarter time after a 4.3 to 2.5 first term. But the signs of a Bloods' takeover showed in the second term as they outscored the Pies and snatched a one-goal lead, 5.5 to 3.1. Slowly but surely the Bloods showed more fight than at any point in the last two seasons as they restricted a Magpies defense that was clearly hurting from the loss of back-man Steven Eichner who copped a gruesome looking injury in the state match, later they would lose Jeremy Clayton to an ankle injury. After the long break, the Bloods would extend their lead to 22 points. Inaccurate shots on goal by the Bloods kept the door slightly ajar, but the Magpies forward just failed to fire up after half time and Westies just romped away. In the second half, the Pies only managed 2.3 compared to the Bloods' 6.12. It was enough to see the visitors home by 39 points, finally giving 'Weed' a reason to smile a bit. Ben Haynes was best afield for West, Mark Baird was named best for Port.

In the ABC Match of the Round, the cameras headed up north to the Hamra Homes Oval where the Bulldogs faced the Redlegs. It turned out to be an ugly contest, the Bulldogs showing some glimpses of their trademark form from years past. The Doggies didn't get off to a dream start, but did manage to take a quarter time lead of three points. The Redlegs had a better second term, kicking 5.4 to Centrals' 4.3 to be up by four points at the long break. But when play resumed, the Dogs stifled the Redlegs' forwards, keeping them to two behinds whilst kicking 4.5 for themselves to lead by 22 points at three-quarter time. Norwood's woes continued in the final quarter, the home side running off to a 40 point win after a 5.6 to 3.1 scoreline to close the game. The Dogs coped well without the Gowans boys, Matthew Slade was named best for Centrals and Brett James for Norwood.

In the last match of the afternoon, the Double Blues travelled down to Glenelg Oval to clash with the Tigers. Sturt found it difficult to find their feet early on in the match, starting off behind the eight ball as the Tigers seized a 13 point lead at quarter time, 4.3 to Sturt's 2.2. But it didn't take the Blues long to kick into playing mode, edging past the Tigers to lead by a point at half time after kicking 6.1 to Glenelg's 3.5. The Blues boys were just getting more and more confident all the time, while in contrast the Tigers began to lose it in the skill department as the visitors took advantage of all the poor decisions Glenelg made. In the third term, the Blues looked to have the better of the home side as they got out to a 21 point lead at three-quarter time. The Tigers rallied to wrest control of the game, but the Blues were able to hold them off long enough to win by a point. Jade Sheedy was judged best for the Blues, while Brett Backwell's fighting attitude got him BOG honours for the Tigers.

FINAL SCORES IN ROUND 9 OF THE SANFL...

Saturday June 3
Woodville-West Torrens 23.9 (147)
North Adelaide 9.14 (68)
3,546 @ Thebarton Oval

West Adelaide 13.22 (100)
Port Adelaide 9.7 (61)
3,086 @ Alberton Oval

Central District 16.17 (113)
Norwood 11.7 (73)
3,383 @ Hamra Homes Oval, Elizabeth

Sturt 15.6 (96)
Glenelg 14.11 (95)
3,669 @ Glenelg Oval

South Adelaide had the bye.


Injuries
North -- Younie (shoulder), Krieg (concussion)
Port -- J. Clayton (ankle), Waterhouse (cork)
Central -- Gowans (calf)
Norwood -- Campbell (thigh)
Sturt -- Wicks (shoulder)

Reports
W-WT -- Inkster (rough conduct)


Next week in Round 10...

Saturday June 10
Woodville-West Torrens vs. South Adelaide; Woodville Oval
North Adelaide vs. West Adelaide; Prospect Oval
Sturt vs. Central District; Unley Oval

Monday June 12
Glenelg vs. Norwood; Glenelg Oval

Port Adelaide has the bye.


So until next weekend... see you at the Footy!

R-9, Ladder

Team GP PTS %
PORT 8 12 55.49
NORTH 8 12 52.02
W-WT 8 10 54.93
GLEN 8 8 53.18
CENT 8 8 50.47
NORW 8 8 48.47
SOUTH 7 6 52.65
STURT 7 4 42.31
WEST 8 2 40.17

Footnotes

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