2025 GRAND FINAL - Sturt vs Glenelg

[dedja]

Sun is shining, birds singing etc

Was it hard watching in black and white in Hobart.

It was in glorious colour.

Even more glorious was the lack of black and white on GF day

Accepted the challenge and nail it.

[Bluedemon]

such a brilliant day for the Mighty Double Blues

[dedja]

such a brilliant day for the Mighty Double Blues

Yesterday was the first time ever I just accepted that the opposition was a better team, by a long way.

You have to admire the changes that were made to last year’s side to rise up from that straight sets disaster … basically the perfect season.

Sturt have raised the bar and everyone else has to lift to keep up, exactly the way things should be. I’d rather watch the way they play every day of the week as opposed to the defensive rubbish that was in vogue 10 or so years ago (yes, looking at you Norwood ).

[mal]

Grand Finals head to head
ST 4
GL1

In those 5 games ST had more scoring shots in every game

[Bluedemon]

such a brilliant day for the Mighty Double Blues

Yesterday was the first time ever I just accepted that the opposition was a better team, by a long way.

You have to admire the changes that were made to last year’s side to rise up from that straight sets disaster … basically the perfect season.

Sturt have raised the bar and everyone else has to lift to keep up, exactly the way things should be. I’d rather watch the way they play every day of the week as opposed to the defensive rubbish that was in vogue 10 or so years ago (yes, looking at you Norwood ).

We changed from a defensive team to more of an attacking side

[Dutchy]

Well done Sturt, had a feeling everything would have had to have gone perfectly for us to win yesterday and Sturt weren't going to let that happen.

Mattner has made no secret that their old game plan was good enough to beat 8 other teams but they knew they needed to change to beat Glenelg, the ultimate reward for plenty of hard work and planning yesterday.

Well done to our ressies, enjoyed watching them play and Im sure plenty will see opportunity in 2026

[gadj1976]

Well done Sturt, had a feeling everything would have had to have gone perfectly for us to win yesterday and Sturt weren't going to let that happen.

Mattner has made no secret that their old game plan was good enough to beat 8 other teams but they knew they needed to change to beat Glenelg, the ultimate reward for plenty of hard work and planning yesterday.

Well done to our ressies, enjoyed watching them play and Im sure plenty will see opportunity in 2026

I've said the same thing about the Crows in the AFL. They have a great game plan for R0-24 but is it good enough to get over the line in finals?

Mattner obviously addressed that after Sturt's 2024 capitulation and it paid off in droves. I don't think I've seen Glenelg in recent years just not know how to combat another team. They looked like they were out of ideas.

No doubt after plenty of reviews over the off season, the bays will return with a game plan to combat it. Onward and upward to 2026 hey?

[Booney]

Mattner mentioned last night they trained once a week at Mt Barker to practice on the bigger oval that reflects the size of Adelaide Oval and not just the confines of Unley. That's meticulous preparation.

[am Bays]

Sturt boys (past and present) stayed in 2020s not the 80s-90s at the top of the Ark on Sunday night???

[Dutchy]

Well done Sturt, had a feeling everything would have had to have gone perfectly for us to win yesterday and Sturt weren't going to let that happen.

Mattner has made no secret that their old game plan was good enough to beat 8 other teams but they knew they needed to change to beat Glenelg, the ultimate reward for plenty of hard work and planning yesterday.

Well done to our ressies, enjoyed watching them play and Im sure plenty will see opportunity in 2026

I've said the same thing about the Crows in the AFL. They have a great game plan for R0-24 but is it good enough to get over the line in finals?

Mattner obviously addressed that after Sturt's 2024 capitulation and it paid off in droves. I don't think I've seen Glenelg in recent years just not know how to combat another team. They looked like they were out of ideas.

No doubt after plenty of reviews over the off season, the bays will return with a game plan to combat it. Onward and upward to 2026 hey?

I think 2023 had more to do with it, the GF 2 years ago was very similar feeling, just the opposite teams. Then when the game game plan didnt work in 2024 change was made

[Pseudo]

An interesting coincidence:

Sturt just posted a season without dropping a game to a dinkum team. Their only loss was to a rubbish team.

In Perth, South Freo just posted a season without dropping a game to a dinkum team. Their only loss was to a rubbish team.

[knowledge]

Well done Sturt, had a feeling everything would have had to have gone perfectly for us to win yesterday and Sturt weren't going to let that happen.

Mattner has made no secret that their old game plan was good enough to beat 8 other teams but they knew they needed to change to beat Glenelg, the ultimate reward for plenty of hard work and planning yesterday.

Well done to our ressies, enjoyed watching them play and Im sure plenty will see opportunity in 2026

In Glenelg's defence, losing two defenders in the mid-season draft certainly didn't help their cause. Plus the injury to Proud the previous week. Even though I think Glenelg had more inside 50's, it was the delivery and repetition of our inside 50's that won the day. Defenders wilt under constant repeat entry pressure. You don't even have to spot key forwards up anymore. Hone, Conforti and Mathews all kicked multiple goals in both games. Of course, you still need to control the centre clearances which Lewis, Snelling and Anderson did in both games. Lachie Hosie is a class act. He continually performs in finals and is a great player.

[am Bays]

Excellent summary mate, enjoy the spoils.

Sturt were a class above in both finals

[JK]

As a Legs fan this doesn’t come easy lol, but congrats to Sturt, thoroughly dominant season and awesome side, ultra deserving of the flag. The banged up Bays lost no admirers, they had a good dip but the Blues were just too strong. Premier off a dominant season always looks a shoe in the following season, and often that doesn’t materialize, but the gap between the Blues and the rest is just huge, lots of work for the other 9 clubs to do in the off season.

Enjoy Blues fans.

[Pseudo]

As a Legs fan this doesn’t come easy lol, but congrats to Sturt, thoroughly dominant season and awesome side, ultra deserving of the flag. The banged up Bays lost no admirers, they had a good dip but the Blues were just too strong. Premier off a dominant season always looks a shoe in the following season, and often that doesn’t materialize, but the gap between the Blues and the rest is just huge, lots of work for the other 9 clubs to do in the off season.

Enjoy Blues fans.

Taking off my Bays hat for long enough to type this - it is a bit of a shame that Binder missed that goal in the prelim, 'coz I reckon the Legs game plan was better suited to Sturt than the Bays, and that a Legs-Sturt Granny would have been an excellent spectacle as a neutral.

Right, Bays hat back on. Still better than a Tommy hat...

[Dutchy]

Well done Sturt, had a feeling everything would have had to have gone perfectly for us to win yesterday and Sturt weren't going to let that happen.

Mattner has made no secret that their old game plan was good enough to beat 8 other teams but they knew they needed to change to beat Glenelg, the ultimate reward for plenty of hard work and planning yesterday.

Well done to our ressies, enjoyed watching them play and Im sure plenty will see opportunity in 2026

In Glenelg's defence, losing two defenders in the mid-season draft certainly didn't help their cause. Plus the injury to Proud the previous week. Even though I think Glenelg had more inside 50's, it was the delivery and repetition of our inside 50's that won the day. Defenders wilt under constant repeat entry pressure. You don't even have to spot key forwards up anymore. Hone, Conforti and Mathews all kicked multiple goals in both games. Of course, you still need to control the centre clearances which Lewis, Snelling and Anderson did in both games. Lachie Hosie is a class act. He continually performs in finals and is a great player.

Absolutely the MSD hurt, but can't control that.

I50 count is always an interesting one (have a look at the u18 GF), I'd prefer to have an I30 stat as that is where Sturt got their entries and their small went to work if the talls didn't mark it. On the other hand we had a heap of shallow 40-50m entries/marks, which is a credit to Sturts pressure up the ground

[Bluedemon]

Mattner mentioned last night they trained once a week at Mt Barker to practice on the bigger oval that reflects the size of Adelaide Oval and not just the confines of Unley. That's meticulous preparation.

Trained at Summit Oval

[Spargo]

Whilst proud of my lot for making another GF, and yes we’d had 3 tough, physical finals leading in, I was disappointed with our slow ball movement, sideways play & reluctance to take the game on. We gave Sturt far too much time to set up defensively. We had more of the ball yet had to work harder for our goals whereas Sturt, frustratingly, got some easy ones at crucial times. Scharenberg, J.Lyons & Hosie (who’s taken his game to another level) our best.
Congrats to Sturt, best side all year.
As for Glenelg, we never really got going this year which sounds strange finishing 2nd & only losing 3 minor round games narrowly. But the run, flair & risk taking of previous years was not seen as often. Plenty of league experience in the B Grade who I expect will step back up. Whilst we still have plenty of experience, great leaders & Reeva calling the shots, we’ll be around the mark again next year.