Two days have passed and still feeling that buzz from when the siren sounded. Really proud of what that playing group has done this year and particularly the way they willed themselves through the final series.
A scattered bunch of ten unrelated thoughts:
1. Sturt could easily have won the qualifying final, and deserved to, and theirs and Nwd's finals campaigns would have been very very different. That day was an example of the Nwd structures and discipline overcoming a side that had far more of the football.
2. The third quarter by Port in the Second Semi was the standout quarter of the finals series - better than South's start in the Prelim and better than Nwd's start on the weekend. It was an eye-opener as to what the Magpies might do regularly next year.
3. Adelaide Oval had a saving role to play for the SANFL in crowd numbers for the finals series.
4. The start of the GF was notable in that one club's supporters so significantly out-numbered the other's - but that gradually reached a bit more parity as the Port supporters got there during the game.
5. The Magpies cheersquad has lost none of its passion and venom - they were as large in number, voice and agro as in pre-AFL days.
6. As I've posted before I'd prefer to see my mob contest finals against the Magpies, rather than somebody's AFL seconds team, BUT given the quality of the game on the weekend, and given that the seconds team looked like Magpies, and given that Nwd played with so much guts and determination to hang on, today I'll take that and revel in the GF win.
7. Later, hopefully much much later, my usual angry dark thoughts about this bastardised, conflicted and compromised competition (and my club's duplicity in the yes vote) will no doubt take over.
8. For now, congrats Nwd players- outstanding effort by Dugga and the boys.
9. Still surprised the siren in the last quarter went off so early.
10. It's generally harder to be an SANFL supporter thesedays. So much of what used to be just a simple passionate and parochial adventure each weekend where the only conspiracy theories revolved around umpiring
has been replaced by politics, conflicted agendas and spin. Such a shame.